Strength Seen in Cimarex (XEC): Can Its 7.4% Jump Turn into More Strength?

Cimarex Energy shares soared 7.4% in the last trading session to close at $80.12. The move was backed by solid volume with far more shares changing hands than in a normal session. This compares to the stock's 19.6% gain over the past four weeks.

Increased optimism over the accelerated recovery in the energy sector following the massive oil price improvement primarily drove the stock higher. With a strong footprint in Permian, the company is well positioned to capitalize on the rapidly improving oil price. Cimarex’s drilling efficiencies in the most prolific basin have been improving at a fast pace, with the company’s average feet drilled per day metric surging to 1,513 in the June quarter of this year from 1,252 in the third quarter of last year. The company now expects its total well cost per lateral foot in 2021 in the band of $800 to $850, suggesting a significant decline from $1,479 in 2018.

Price and Consensus

This oil and natural gas company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $2.57 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +403.9%. Revenues are expected to be $723.66 million, up 80.2% from the year-ago quarter.

Earnings and revenue growth expectations certainly give a good sense of the potential strength in a stock, but empirical research shows that trends in earnings estimate revisions are strongly correlated with near-term stock price movements.

For Cimarex, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 1.6% higher over the last 30 days to the current level. And a positive trend in earnings estimate revision usually translates into price appreciation. So, make sure to keep an eye on XEC going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.

The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank 2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>

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