Stock price when the opinion was issued
Lately they've had success in exploration in Germany, but near-term capex to exploit that is questionable. Are hard hit, now trading at half their book value. Are paying a near-6% dividend. He's held on. He may use VET as a source of funds, but otherwise won't sell it.
They acquired Spartan Energy, which gives them a low-cost Saskatchewan producer and a lot of light oil, which is easy to move. Their balance sheet has improved significantly. They had $1.36 billion in debt with $1.57 in equity. That’s a tight balance sheet. After the acquisition, which was an all-stock deal, they’ll have $1.5 billion of debt against $2.8 billion in equity. This gives them more oil in Canada and a much better balance sheet. He thinks this is an interesting story, the price has come down and thinks it is a good value if it breaks below $40. Spartan was a good buy for them and the next buys will probably be international.