WPX Energy (WPX) To Post Q4 Earnings: What's In The Offing?

WPX Energy Inc. (NYSE:WPX) is scheduled to release fourth-quarter 2019 results on Feb 26. In the last reported quarter, the company delivered a negative earnings surprise of 18.2%.

Let’s see how things have shaped up before the upcoming earnings announcement.

Factors to Consider

WPX Energy’s fourth-quarter oil production is anticipated to have improved from a year ago, primarily due to the wells that were completed in the late second quarter or early July. Higher year-over-year production volumes from Delaware and Williston Basins are likely to have boosted performance of the company.

Its strategic transformation via selling off non-core assets, making acquisitions, repurchasing shares and refinancing of high-interest debts is likely to have had a positive impact on fourth-quarter performance.

Q4 Expectation

WPX Energy expects fourth-quarter oil production within 109,000-111,000 barrels per day, up 4% from the previous estimate. The company’s capital expenditure guidance for the quarter is projected in the range of $260-$275 million.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter 2019 total production is pegged at 175,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, which indicates a 12.2% increase from the year-ago reported figure. Out of the total fourth-quarter production, nearly 63% is expected to be oil.

Earnings Whispers

Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for WPX Energy this time around. A stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP (which represents the difference between the Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate) and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) to surpass estimates. That is not the case here as you will see below.

Earnings ESP: The company’s Earnings ESP is -0.69%.

You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: Currently, WPX Energy carries a Zacks Rank #3.

Stocks to Consider

Here are a few companies worth considering from the same industry that have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings in the upcoming releases.

Berry Petroleum Corporation (NASDAQ:BRY) is set to release fourth-quarter results on Feb 26. It has an Earnings ESP of +5.00% and a Zacks Rank #1. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) is slated to release fourth-quarter results on Feb 26. It has an Earnings ESP of +2.13% and a Zacks Rank #3.

Apache Corporation (NYSE:APA) is slated to release fourth-quarter results on Feb 26. It has an Earnings ESP of +20.95% and a Zacks Rank #3.

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