Two energy producers ready to soar

Article Excerpt

DEVON ENERGY CORP. $47.02 (New York symbol DVN; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (405-2353611; www.dvn.com; Shares outstanding: 523.6 million; Market cap: $25.2 billion; Dividend yield: 0.5%) is one of the largest explorers and producers of oil and natural gas in the U.S. The production mix for the company’s 19,000 wells is 38% natural gas and 62% oil. Devon’s output averaged 577,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day for the third quarter, ended September 30, 2016. That’s down 15.1% from 680,000 a year earlier. Cash flow per share fell sharply, to $1.13 from $3.62. The decline was mostly due to the lower output. However, production was up 21.5% from the second quarter of 2016. The company continues to cut costs and strengthen its balance sheet. That should let it quickly raise funds to accelerate drilling when oil and gas prices further rise. Devon has now completed the sale of some of its noncore properties for $3.2 billion. The company also raised another $1.5 billion by…