Excerpt from Stockwatch Energy-Today Another company trying (without success) to regain some lost ground from yesterday was Grant Fagerheim's Alberta- and Saskatchewan-focused Whitecap Resources Inc. (WCP), down 13 cents to $10.02 on 5.24 million shares. Yesterday it lost 25 cents after hosting an investor day and promoting a plan to boost its 170,000-barrel-a-day production to 215,000 barrels a day by 2029. Although Whitecap's shareholders have now sent the stock down two days in a row, its cheerleaders -- also known as analysts -- held their own pep rally for the company this morning, releasing a bevy of boosterish research notes.
Desjardins analyst Chris MacCulloch dubbed himself "impressed by the strong growth potential provided by the asset base." An "attractive" 6.08-cent monthly dividend (for a yield of 7.3 per cent ) is a bonus. Mr. MacCulloch noted, however, that Whitecap "appears hesitant to further accelerate capital returns," including the dividend. This may explain investors' aloofness, but the analyst is optimistic that "asset optimization ... should ultimately lay the foundation for enhanced returns to shareholders." He left his price target at $11.75. Meanwhile, TD's Aaron Bilkoski reiterated his price target of $12, while National Bank's Travis Wood kept his at an even loftier $15. The three targets are 17- to 50-per-cent increases over today's close of $10.02. The three analysts, as is always worth noting, work for firms that do business with Whitecap or seek to do so.