Athabasca Oil Sands CorpATH.TOCOMMENTMar 03, 2015Stock price when the opinion was issued
As of Jun 05, 2026. Market Open.
What do you want to own today? Canada. Oil. Asset duration. Free cashflow. Share buybacks. This name checks off every single box. Still sees over 100% upside long term at $80 oil in this name, so he's trying to sit on his hands and not sell.
He'd have made it a Top Pick again today if he were allowed.
The high is around $8. It just broke above recent highs in the consolidation zone. Pretty important technical resistance is around $7. Likes it here, and doesn't mind buying at these levels. Positive, long-term trend on the 5-year chart.
Awesome chart, especially given how choppy crude's been. Crude picking up would be an additional tailwind.
Is benefiting from weakness in American shale. The Oil Sands have been overlooked for a long while; the Oil Sands have supply unlike much of the world which is and will face oil supply shortages. ATH has no debt. They will have over 50 years of stay-flat inventory. Have low or no growth, but will buy back as much as stock free cash flow allows. There is a take-put premium in the current share price. At $70 oil, this will trade at 11% free cash flow yield. He sees $80 oil in a year or more, but not for the next 9 months at least. Great managers.
No debt. Roughly $134M net cash. Business model is defendable down to $50 oil. Purish-play, oil sands name. Very clean story. Modest growth, 50+ years of stay-flat inventory. Residual free cashflow dollars are being used to buy back shares. In March alone, bought back 2% of shares outstanding. Management team is underestimated, has done a fantastic job. Gives you exposure to better days ahead for oil. No dividend.
(Analysts’ price target is $6.19)
This is one of those companies that really got squeezed by the commodity fall. Unfortunately gas prices have worked against them in the Duvernay, where they are still in the process of improving cost efficiencies to make it truly economic and generate rates of returns that should be north of 25%-30%. Their other major asset, which is just steaming up and wrapping up, is their Hangingstone heavy oil project. The 2 things that you probably don’t want to own in a $50 oil and $2.50 gas environment, is an early stage, capital intensive gas project and a heavy oil project.