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Why You Should Hold on to Continental Resources Stock Now
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Continental Resources, Inc. is well poised to grow on the back of strong presence in the Bakken Shale. However, rising production costs and a volatile commodity price environment are persistent concerns.
Oklahoma City, OK-based Continental Resources is an explorer and producer of oil and natural gas. The company has resources across the East, South and North United States. It is a leading producer in the Bakken play. The company has a market cap of $6.6 billion and an expected earnings growth rate of 8.5% for the next five years.
Continental Resources, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise
Let’s delve deeper to find out why this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock is worth retaining at the moment.
What’s Favoring the Stock?
Continental Resources has a premier position in the Bakken area. The shale play, which is ranked among the country’s largest onshore oilfields, produces premium quality of crude. In the said region, the company produced 148,416 barrels of oil per day in 2019, representing a year-over-year rise of 14%. Moreover, its operations in the SCOOP and STACK plays of Oklahoma generate huge profits for the company.
From 2019 to 2023, it expects oil equivalent production to see a compound annual growth rate of 8-10%. This will likely help the company generate average annual free cash flow of $3.5-$4 billion over the five-year period. Notably, it has decided to suspend quarterly dividend payouts to maximize cash flows amid the current market uncertainty. The company expects to generate $500 million in free cash flow for the second half of 2020.
Moreover, capital expenditure for full-year 2020 is estimated at $1.20 billion, reflecting a decline from the original guidance of $2.65 billion. In order to conserve cash amid the coronavirus pandemic, the company has reduced operational activities and voluntarily curtailed oil production. However, with oil price improving over the past few months, it is gradually resuming output, which will benefit the bottom line. For full-year 2020, the company expects to operate total net wells of 142.
Downsides
However, there are a few factors that are impeding the growth of the stock lately.
As of Jun 30, 2020, the company had total cash and cash equivalents of $6.7 million, down from $517.6 million at first quarter-end. It had significantly higher long-term debt of $5,740.6 million (excluding current maturities) than the first quarter. In fact, the company had a debt to capitalization of 46.6%, higher than the industry’s 37.8%. Notably, the ratio has consistently been higher than the industry over the past few years, reflecting more leveraged balance sheet.
As commodity prices are now in the bearish territory as the coronavirus pandemic is hurting global energy demand, the outlook for exploration and production business seems gloomy. With crude accounting for nearly 50% of the company’s production volumes, weakness in the price of the commodity is likely to hurt the upstream energy player’s bottom line.
Continental Resources’ production expenses rose 14% year over year in 2019. Exploration expenses also doubled in 2019, in turn affecting the company’s bottom line. Moreover, production expense for full-year 2020 is expected within $3.50-$4.00 per Boe, whose mid-point indicates a rise from the 2019 level of $3.58. Higher production expenses can hurt the company's bottom line.
To Sum Up
Despite significant growth opportunities, increasing production costs and volatile commodity prices are concerns. Nevertheless, we believe that systematic and strategic plan of action will drive its long-term growth.
Concho Resources’ bottom line for 2020 is expected to rise 34.4% year over year.
EOG Resources’ sales for 2021 is expected to rise 18.8% year over year.
Shell’s bottom line for 2021 is expected to rise 112.5% year over year.
These Stocks Are Poised to Soar Past the Pandemic
The COVID-19 outbreak has shifted consumer behavior dramatically, and a handful of high-tech companies have stepped up to keep America running. Right now, investors in these companies have a shot at serious profits. For example, Zoom jumped 108.5% in less than 4 months while most other stocks were sinking.
Our research shows that 5 cutting-edge stocks could skyrocket from the exponential increase in demand for “stay at home” technologies. This could be one of the biggest buying opportunities of this decade, especially for those who get in early.
Image: Bigstock
Why You Should Hold on to Continental Resources Stock Now
Continental Resources, Inc. is well poised to grow on the back of strong presence in the Bakken Shale. However, rising production costs and a volatile commodity price environment are persistent concerns.
Oklahoma City, OK-based Continental Resources is an explorer and producer of oil and natural gas. The company has resources across the East, South and North United States. It is a leading producer in the Bakken play. The company has a market cap of $6.6 billion and an expected earnings growth rate of 8.5% for the next five years.
Continental Resources, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise
Continental Resources, Inc. price-eps-surprise | Continental Resources, Inc. Quote
Let’s delve deeper to find out why this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock is worth retaining at the moment.
What’s Favoring the Stock?
Continental Resources has a premier position in the Bakken area. The shale play, which is ranked among the country’s largest onshore oilfields, produces premium quality of crude. In the said region, the company produced 148,416 barrels of oil per day in 2019, representing a year-over-year rise of 14%. Moreover, its operations in the SCOOP and STACK plays of Oklahoma generate huge profits for the company.
From 2019 to 2023, it expects oil equivalent production to see a compound annual growth rate of 8-10%. This will likely help the company generate average annual free cash flow of $3.5-$4 billion over the five-year period. Notably, it has decided to suspend quarterly dividend payouts to maximize cash flows amid the current market uncertainty. The company expects to generate $500 million in free cash flow for the second half of 2020.
Moreover, capital expenditure for full-year 2020 is estimated at $1.20 billion, reflecting a decline from the original guidance of $2.65 billion. In order to conserve cash amid the coronavirus pandemic, the company has reduced operational activities and voluntarily curtailed oil production. However, with oil price improving over the past few months, it is gradually resuming output, which will benefit the bottom line. For full-year 2020, the company expects to operate total net wells of 142.
Downsides
However, there are a few factors that are impeding the growth of the stock lately.
As of Jun 30, 2020, the company had total cash and cash equivalents of $6.7 million, down from $517.6 million at first quarter-end. It had significantly higher long-term debt of $5,740.6 million (excluding current maturities) than the first quarter. In fact, the company had a debt to capitalization of 46.6%, higher than the industry’s 37.8%. Notably, the ratio has consistently been higher than the industry over the past few years, reflecting more leveraged balance sheet.
As commodity prices are now in the bearish territory as the coronavirus pandemic is hurting global energy demand, the outlook for exploration and production business seems gloomy. With crude accounting for nearly 50% of the company’s production volumes, weakness in the price of the commodity is likely to hurt the upstream energy player’s bottom line.
Continental Resources’ production expenses rose 14% year over year in 2019. Exploration expenses also doubled in 2019, in turn affecting the company’s bottom line. Moreover, production expense for full-year 2020 is expected within $3.50-$4.00 per Boe, whose mid-point indicates a rise from the 2019 level of $3.58. Higher production expenses can hurt the company's bottom line.
To Sum Up
Despite significant growth opportunities, increasing production costs and volatile commodity prices are concerns. Nevertheless, we believe that systematic and strategic plan of action will drive its long-term growth.
Stocks to Consider
Some better-ranked players in the energy space include Concho Resources Inc. , EOG Resources, Inc. (EOG - Free Report) and Royal Dutch Shell plc , each holding a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Concho Resources’ bottom line for 2020 is expected to rise 34.4% year over year.
EOG Resources’ sales for 2021 is expected to rise 18.8% year over year.
Shell’s bottom line for 2021 is expected to rise 112.5% year over year.
These Stocks Are Poised to Soar Past the Pandemic
The COVID-19 outbreak has shifted consumer behavior dramatically, and a handful of high-tech companies have stepped up to keep America running. Right now, investors in these companies have a shot at serious profits. For example, Zoom jumped 108.5% in less than 4 months while most other stocks were sinking.
Our research shows that 5 cutting-edge stocks could skyrocket from the exponential increase in demand for “stay at home” technologies. This could be one of the biggest buying opportunities of this decade, especially for those who get in early.
See the 5 high-tech stocks now>>