This item is part of Stockwatch's value added news feed and is only available to Stockwatch subscribers.

Here is a sample of this item:

by Stockwatch Business Reporter

West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery lost 43 cents to $90.73 on the New York Merc, while Brent for November lost 51 cents to $94.16 (all figures in this para U.S.). Western Canadian Select traded at a discount of $13.85 to WTI ($76.88), up from a discount of $14.50. Natural gas for November lost 9.8 cents to $4.02. The TSX energy index lost 6.06 points to close at 286.29.

John Wright's Lightstream Resources Ltd. (LTS) lost 49 cents to $4.76, its lowest level ever, on 7.77 million shares. Its only news was that it has closed the $378.4-million sale of its conventional assets in southeast Saskatchewan to Crescent Point Energy Ltd. (CPG: $39.54). This deal marks the completion of its $600-million asset sale program. In fact, Lightstream has sold $729-million of assets since it announced this program in late 2013, bringing its debt down to $1.5-billion from over $2-billion. Now the challenge is to keep the debt from springing back up. Long-time investors will remember that Lightstream undertook a very similar debt-reduction program in 2012, right down to selling assets in Saskatchewan to Crescent Point (for $427-million that time), which brought its debt to $1.4-billion from $1.8-billion. That amount more than regained its ground by the end of 2013. Lightstream would probably say its situation is different now because it has narrowed its focus on the Alberta Cardium and Saskatchewan Bakken plays, which are benefiting from new technologies that improve production while lowering costs. Investors seem skeptical. Another factor behind today's drop may be nervousness that the company will cut or eliminate its four-cent monthly dividend, which yields 10 per cent. TD Securities analyst Travis Wood raised this spectre in a research note this morning, calculating that eliminating the dividend would save about $96-million a year. He said this option "could be viable given we do not believe that the stock is being rewarded for the yield." He also said Lightstream could be a good takeover target, allowing investors to take his recommendation as positively or negatively as they like. They seem to have come down firmly on the negative side.

The remainder is available to Stockwatch subscribers.
Sign-up for a FREE 30-day Stockwatch subscription and SEE NO ADS