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ConocoPhillips Divests Assets Worth $1.3 Billion in 2016
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Upstream energy player ConocoPhillips (COP - Free Report) recently declared the completion of its planned asset sale for 2016. We note that the company generated proceeds of $1.3 billion this year, which surpassed the targeted amount of $1 billion.
ConocoPhillips will likely utilize the proceeds topay outstanding debt, repurchase shares and fund general corporate activities. The company added that out of the total amount from asset divestment, proceeds worth $800 million will be recorded in the fourth quarter. Most importantly, 2016 output from the properties divested will likely be 27 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (MBOE/D).
Furthermore, the company continues to expect 2016 production to lie in the range of 1,560–1,570 MBOE/D. For the next year, ConocoPhillips anticipates output to either remain flat or improve 2% year over year after adjusting impact of 2016 properties dispositions. Along with the asset sale declaration, the company announced the initiation of a share repurchase program worth $3 billion. ConocoPhillips has already started buying back shares under the plan since mid-November.
Buoyed by the success of exceeding its asset divestment target, management expects to complete its $5–$8 billion property sale program over the next two years. Based on the aforesaid developments, we believe that the company could improve its liquidity and also can distribute free cashflows to stockholders.
Houston, TX-based ConocoPhillips is a major global exploration and production company with operations and activities in 21 countries. Year to date, the company has showed solid price strength after surpassing the Oil & Gas-U.S Integrated industry. During the aforesaid period, the company gained almost 11% compared with only 5% improvement for the broader industry.
However, although oil prices have recovered from the mid-February lows, it is still way below that of mid-2014. The commodity price weaknesses are likely to hinder the company’s upstream operations.
As a result, the company currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked players in the energy sector are McDermott International, Inc. , Ocean Rig UDW LLC and Suncor Energy Inc. (SU - Free Report) . Both McDermott and Suncor sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), while Ocean Rig carries a Zacks Rank 2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
McDermott beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters with an average earnings surprise of 474.04%.
Ocean Rig surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the last four quarters with an average earnings surprise of 55.60%.
Suncor posted an average earnings surprise of 40.55% for the last four quarters.
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ConocoPhillips Divests Assets Worth $1.3 Billion in 2016
Upstream energy player ConocoPhillips (COP - Free Report) recently declared the completion of its planned asset sale for 2016. We note that the company generated proceeds of $1.3 billion this year, which surpassed the targeted amount of $1 billion.
ConocoPhillips will likely utilize the proceeds topay outstanding debt, repurchase shares and fund general corporate activities. The company added that out of the total amount from asset divestment, proceeds worth $800 million will be recorded in the fourth quarter. Most importantly, 2016 output from the properties divested will likely be 27 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (MBOE/D).
Furthermore, the company continues to expect 2016 production to lie in the range of 1,560–1,570 MBOE/D. For the next year, ConocoPhillips anticipates output to either remain flat or improve 2% year over year after adjusting impact of 2016 properties dispositions. Along with the asset sale declaration, the company announced the initiation of a share repurchase program worth $3 billion. ConocoPhillips has already started buying back shares under the plan since mid-November.
Buoyed by the success of exceeding its asset divestment target, management expects to complete its $5–$8 billion property sale program over the next two years. Based on the aforesaid developments, we believe that the company could improve its liquidity and also can distribute free cashflows to stockholders.
Houston, TX-based ConocoPhillips is a major global exploration and production company with operations and activities in 21 countries. Year to date, the company has showed solid price strength after surpassing the Oil & Gas-U.S Integrated industry. During the aforesaid period, the company gained almost 11% compared with only 5% improvement for the broader industry.
However, although oil prices have recovered from the mid-February lows, it is still way below that of mid-2014. The commodity price weaknesses are likely to hinder the company’s upstream operations.
As a result, the company currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked players in the energy sector are McDermott International, Inc. , Ocean Rig UDW LLC and Suncor Energy Inc. (SU - Free Report) . Both McDermott and Suncor sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), while Ocean Rig carries a Zacks Rank 2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
McDermott beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters with an average earnings surprise of 474.04%.
Ocean Rig surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the last four quarters with an average earnings surprise of 55.60%.
Suncor posted an average earnings surprise of 40.55% for the last four quarters.
Zacks’ Best Private Investment Ideas
In addition to the recommendations that are available to the public on our website, how would you like to follow all Zacks' private buys and sells in real time?
Our experts cover all kinds of trades… from value to momentum . . . from stocks under $10 to ETF and option moves . . . from stocks that corporate insiders are buying up to companies that are about to report positive earnings surprises. You can even look inside exclusive portfolios that are normally closed to new investors. Starting today, for the next month, you can have unrestricted access. Click here for Zacks' private trades >>