Stock price when the opinion was issued
Huge disappointment, not operationally but on the share price. Typifies an out-of-favour stock: Canadian mid-cap with hair on it. Last quarter had no hair, beat expectations, paid down debt, generated lots of free cash, bought back stock. Deep value, mispriced, too cheap to sell. He's waiting, but patience is being tested.
Oil is down, which doesn't help. The budget shows a slight decline in production from year end exit rates, so investors may be worried that all the spending ($1.2B) is not going to boost actual average production rates. BTE also updated its five-year plan, which looks OK to us with a planned reduction in debt. But the sector remains out of favour overall right now.
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They executed in their drilling. There's been huge multiple contraction among small/mid-caps. He exited around $3.85-3.90. Shares are in an air pocket now, falling on no natural buyers (energy is out of favour). Stock is cheap, given cash flow. They pay half that cash to buy back shares. Are better stocks than this, but wouldn't rule out buying this again.
There is absolutely no reason to own this right now. They’ve too much debt, and lack the ability to meaningfully pay it down. This was a result of their entry into the Eagle Ford. When comparing what they look like in terms of growth rate relative to valuation, in Canada the average intermediate oil company is expected to grow next year by about 15%, with an average multiple of 5.2X EV to future cash flow. This company is expected to grow by 1% and is trading at 5.7X.