Production increases set to boost cash flow

Article Excerpt

ENERPLUS CORP. $10.73 (Toronto symbol ERF; Shares outstanding: 241.0 million; Market cap: $2.6 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative; Dividend yield: 1.1%) produces oil and gas from properties in Western Canada—Alberta, Saskatchewan and B.C.—as well as North Dakota and Montana in the western U.S. The company also has properties in the Marcellus Shale. That rock formation runs through Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio and West Virginia. Enerplus’s output fell by 16.8% in the three months ended December 31, 2016, to an average of 88,960 barrels of oil equivalent per day (53% gas and 47% oil) from 106,905 a year earlier. The decline in production came after the company sold some of its non-core properties in 2016 for $670.4 million. They produced an average 13,500 barrels per day. Enerplus used the proceeds of the sale to pay down its debt. Higher oil and gas prices offset the lower output, and cash flow rose 4.9% to $107.7 million from $102.7 million. Cash flow per share fell 10.0%, to…