Topic: How To Invest

Q: Hi Pat: Can you give an update on a stock: Paramount Resources? Thanks.

Article Excerpt

A: Paramount Resources, $16.40, symbol POU on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 106.3 million; Market cap: $1.7 billion; www.paramountres.com), produces oil and natural gas, mostly in Alberta, but also in B.C., Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories. Its output is 69% oil and 31% gas. The company recently undertook a number of transactions to significantly cut its debt and bolster its balance sheet. They include the August 2016 deal to sell its oil and gas properties in the Musreau/Kakwa area of Alberta for $2.1 billion. The buyer was Seven Generations Energy (Toronto symbol VII), which paid $500 million in cash and 33.5 million of its shares. It also assumed the operation’s $600 million of debt. Shortly after the deal closed, Paramount sold 24.7 million of those Seven Generations shares for $735 million. As a result, on September 30, 2016, the company’s long-term debt was down to $284.4 million, from $1.8 billion at the start of 2016. It also held cash of $721.6 million. In addition, Paramount…