Ultra Petroleum Focuses On Pinedale With Marcellus Sale

Ultra Petroleum Corp. (NASDAQ:UPL) has recently announced the divestment of Marcellus properties, in line with its intention of redirecting focus toward more profitable resources. Alta Marcellus Development LLC is the buyer of the asset and the transaction is valued at $115 million.

Per media resources, the upstream energy player’s Marcellus asset comprises of roughly 50% stake in 72,000 acres spreading across Centre, Lycoming and Clinton counties. The properties sold by Ultra Petroleum recently generated an output of roughly 30 million cubic feet of natural gas regularly. Investors should know that the proceeds are likely to be utilized by the company to lower debt load and for the development of natural gas rich Pinedale resources.

Headquartered in Houston, TX, Ultra Petroleum is involved in the exploration and development of prospective natural gas resources comprising Pinedale and Jonah fields. Given that both natural gas and oil have recovered from historical lows reached last year, we can expect the company to generate significant cashflows in the coming days.

However, the pricing chart scenario is not lucrative. Year to date, the stock plunged 24.2%, wider than the 16.1% decline of the industry.

As a result, Ultra Petroleum currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), which suggests that the stock will perform in line with the broader U.S. equity market in the next one to three months.

Meanwhile, better-ranked players in the energy sector include Lonestar Resources US Inc. (NASDAQ:LONE) , Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG) and China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (NYSE:SNP) . All the stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Headquartered in Fort Worth, TX, Lonestar is an upstream energy player. The company is expected to post year-over-year earnings growth of 81.3% in 2017.

Based in Minnetonka, MN, Northern Oil is an upstream energy player. The company’s 2017 revenues are estimated to grow almost 48%.

Headquartered in Beijing, China Petroleum is a leading integrated energy player. The company will likely witness year-over-year earnings growth of 59.1% in 2017.

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