Topic: How To Invest

Pat: Your opinion on Petrominerales and Petrobank please.

Article Excerpt

Petrominerales Ltd., $8.18, symbol PMG on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 89.7 million; Market cap: $733.7 million; www.petrominerales.com), is a Calgary-based international oil and gas exploration and production company with operations in Colombia and Peru. In the three months ended June 30, 2012, Petrominerales’ cash flow fell 11.4%, to $1.78 a share from $2.01 a year earlier. The company expects to report cash flow of $4.78 a share this year, but that could prove very optimistic if its limited exploration success continues. We don’t recommend Petrominerales. A: Petrobank Energy and Resources, $12.78, symbol PBG on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 99.6 million; Market cap: $1.3 billion; www.petrobank.com), explores for and produces oil and natural gas in western Canada. Petrobank operates heavy-oil projects using its patented THAI recovery process. The company also owns 58% of PetroBakken Energy, symbol PBN on Toronto. In the three months ended June 30, 2012, Petrobank’s cash flow fell 18.5%, to $1.14 a share from $1.40 a year earlier. The company expects cash flow of…