Vermilion Energy Inc (VET.TO)

A great name. Flies under the radar, but it’s international diversity is great. Natural gas is an island of course, so the price we see in North America is not the price it is globally. This looks pretty good. You could also look at Freehold Royalties (FRU-T). However, he is not super bullish on the space simply because energy is under pressure.

Has operations in Australia, France, Germany and the Netherlands. A big project a couple of years has been a big natural gas field in Ireland. This started to come on line near the end of the year. Gas prices in Ireland are linked to oil. This is going to be a new stream of revenue and cash flow for them. Feels this is definitely a company that can survive. Dividend payout is high of over 100%. As they bring in the cash flow, this will go down. Dividend yield of 7.3%.

Of the energy companies, this has done reasonably well. It has a decent yield. Good company and good management.

It is quite unique in that it has so many operations in so many areas. They see growth internationally. There is an element of being too spread out. They have been very consistent in their execution. The dividend just above 7% indicates there is some question about it being sustained. Everyone should be cutting dividends by Q2 this year.

This is a company that he really admires. Owns a little, and at current levels he thinks he will own more going forward. It has International exposure as well as projects coming online in the next year. A very well disciplined management team. Dividend is well covered by cash flow. Even though it is yielding 7.5%, he is not too worried about it.

We have been waiting an eternity for their offshore natural gas field in Ireland to finally come on. The government has been dragging its feet. The stock has held up much better than its peers. With the valuation relative to its dividend and debt load, there are other names he would prefer, but he couldn’t fault you if you wanted to own this.

New CEO which she had expected. Excellent management team. One of the few companies that is going to grow in an environment like this. It has the offshore gas asset in Ireland, and that is going to come on stream imminently. Gas price in Europe is much better than in North America. Well hedged with an $8 handle on gas to the tune of 40% of their production. Dividend yield of 6.65%.

In the screen of investable mid-cap companies, this is #3 out of 5 that he likes. (See comments under Crescent Point (CPG-T).) Have done an extremely good job. They get you into some things in Canada and some outside of Canada. He has heard 2 criticisms recently, 1) they are just slightly too scattered and 2) he doesn’t know the pricing on their new gas project off of Ireland. So far it is European pricing which is more tied to oil. Because of its CapX it is spending slightly more than cash flow, so it went to the bottom of his pile. Also, it is expensive. If oil stays below $60, nothing really works.

A very high quality company. Everybody loves the CEO and people are buying because of him. Trading at a fairly rich valuation. Wouldn’t buy at this time.

Events in France are certainly not going to help the company’s European operations. They have pretty much done everything right over the past 5-6 years. They kept a clean balance sheet, they’ve grown production and paid a nice dividend. They have big upside from some of their upcoming gas projects. He wouldn’t worry about the short term. He really likes the management. The situation in France has created a good buying opportunity.

Have some very interesting assets, most of which most are outside of Canada. Have extraordinarily high valued properties in France, Holland, Australia and recently in Germany. They have a very careful approach on looking at sustainability. The dividend rate is now where they can afford to change their CapX to make sure it is sustainable. The turning on of their current Irish Sea project is going to be significant for them. This is a company that is going to be paying a nice dividend. Large ownership by management. Good, long term investment.

International exposure and dividend growth. They hedged gas in Europe at $10. They will be big on liquids. 5.31% dividend.

It is one of the investible names. Balance sheets really matter. It is trading cheaper than its peers. 90% payout ratio. The dividend is pretty safe. You have to believe that energy prices are going higher.

Not just a Canadian producer, but also in France, giving them a bit better pricing. This is in the group that he considers would be the safest in the next 6-9 months from a dividend point of view. Light oil, high margin producer and great on focusing on efficiencies.

This is really European but it does have some investments in Canada. It is highly regarded by the analysts. Has a safety factor built into it because of its European holdings, and has been quite successful in developing those European assets. Occasionally runs into regulatory problems there, but seem to handle themselves quite well. If he decided to go back into energy, this would probably be close to the top of his list.