Newfield Exploration Co. (NYSE:NFX) posted adjusted third-quarter 2018 earnings of $1.01 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 85 cents. The company had delivered adjusted profit of 52 cents in the year-ago quarter.
Total revenues amounted to $711.0 million, up from $439.0 million in the year-ago quarter. The figure surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $648 million.
The upside can be primarily attributed to outstanding performance in the Anadarko Basin.
Newfield Exploration Company Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Newfield Exploration Company Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Newfield Exploration Company Quote
Operational Performance
Total quarterly production of 18.6 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMBoe) was up from 14.9MMBoe in the year-ago quarter. It comprised 38% oil, 24% natural gas liquids (NGLs) and 38% natural gas.
Natural gas volumes totaled 42.5 billion cubic feet (bcf), which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 40.05bcf. Oil, condensate and NGLs volumes came in at 11.5 million barrels.
Newfield’s third-quarter oil and natural gas price realizations (including the effect of hedges) averaged $38.16 per barrel of oil equivalent. Natural gas prices were $2.34 per thousand cubic feet (mcf), missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.39 per mcf. Oil prices were $66.22 per barrel, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $65 per barrel. NGLs prices were $31.73 per barrel, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $31.97 per barrel.
Financials
At the end of the quarter, Newfield had cash balance of $264.0 million. Long-term debt was $2,436.0 million, which represents a debt-to-capitalization ratio of approximately 56.6%.
Guidance
For 2018, Newfield raised output guidance to 185-200MBoe/d from 180-190 MBoe/d. Capital expenditure is estimated at $1,400 million, up from the previous guidance of $1,350 million. Of the total production, Anadarko Basin expects output in the range of 130-135 MBoe/d.
Zacks Rank & Other Stocks to Consider
Currently, Newfield carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
A few other top-ranked players in the same sector are Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) , Enbridge Inc (NYSE:E) and Eni SpA (NYSE:E) . All these stocks flaunt a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
El Dorado, AR-based Murphy Oil is a global oil and gas exploration as well as production company. It pulled off an average positive earnings surprise of 96.5% in the last four quarters.
Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Enbridge is a leading energy infrastructure company. The company delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 35.3% in the trailing four quarters.
Based in Rome, Italy, Eni is among the leading integrated energy players in the world. The partnership reported a negative earnings surprise of 0.3% in the last four quarters.
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Eni SpA (E): Free Stock Analysis Report
Enbridge Inc (ENB): Free Stock Analysis Report
Newfield Exploration Company (NFX): Free Stock Analysis Report
Murphy Oil Corporation (MUR): Free Stock Analysis Report
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