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 March delivery added $2.40 to $32.28 on the New York Merc, while Brent for April added $2.32 to $35.04, rising on a weaker U.S. dollar and persistent rumours of an OPEC meeting on oversupply concerns (all figures in this para U.S.). Western Canadian Select traded at a discount of $15.50 to WTI ($16.78), unchanged. Natural gas for March added 1.3 cents to $2.038. The TSX energy index added 6.56 points to close at 154.00.

Enerplus Corp. (ERF) added 40 cents to $4.34 on 2.46 million shares, more than regaining the 38 cents it lost yesterday after announcing that it had closed a $183-million sale of Canadian natural gas assets. It did not identify the buyer, but Tourmaline Oil Corp. (TOU: $26.37) put out a press release about a $183-million acquisition of gas assets in Alberta's Deep basin, and Scotia Capital analyst Jason Bouvier named Tourmaline as the buyer in a research note this morning. The assets are producing about 4,700 barrels of oil equivalent a day. Enerplus had announced on Jan. 11 that it had reached two agreements to sell Alberta gas assets producing a total of 5,400 barrels a day for $193-million. That means it is still waiting to pocket another $10-million from its second deal, which it says will close later this quarter. Enerplus is also planning to update its 2016 guidance on Feb. 19 to reflect the sales. Based on what its president and chief executive officer, Ian Dundas, told RBC Capital Markets analyst Greg Pardy, Mr. Pardy would "not be surprised to see Enerplus's [$350-million] capital program ratcheted back by circa $50-million," as the analyst wrote on Jan. 26. Mr. Pardy also expects Enerplus to "reset" (meaning reduce) its three-cent monthly dividend, which was cut from five cents just three months ago but still yields a generous 8.3 per cent. Insiders still seem optimistic about the company. On Jan. 20, director Glen Roane bought 25,000 shares at $2.78, boosting his holdings to about 125,000. The stock has already gained over 50 per cent since then, closing today at $4.34. It still has a long way to climb back to its mid-2014 high of over $27.

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