Whiting Petroleum Corporation is set to release second-quarter 2021 results on Aug 4. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate for the to-be-reported quarter is a profit of $2.45 per share on revenues of $268.87 million.

Let’s delve into the factors that might have influenced the independent energy company’s results in the June quarter. But it’s worth taking a look at Whiting Petroleum’s previous-quarter performance first.

Highlights of Q1 Earnings

In the last-reported quarter, the Denver, CO-based upstream operator beat the consensus mark owing to significant improvement in commodity price realizations. Whiting Petroleum had reported adjusted net income per share of $2.79, comfortably beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.45. Total operating revenues of $307.4 million had also outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 34.06%.

Factors to Consider

In the first quarter of 2021, the company’s average realized crude oil price was $53.24 per barrel, reflecting a 40.5% rise from the year-ago realization of $37.89. The average realized natural gas liquids price was $17.28 per barrel, up 151.2% from the quarter-ago period. Further, natural gas prices were up 173.3% from the prior quarter to $2.05 per thousand cubic feet. The uptick is most likely to have continued in the second quarter, thanks to the sharp rebound in commodity prices that revisited their multi-year highs following the vaccine progress and the ongoing macroeconomic recovery. This price boost is likely to have buoyed the revenues and cash flows of Whiting Petroleum.

But on a somewhat bearish note, the company is likely to have faced a sequential decline in production due to a constrained capital budget. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Whiting Petroleum’s average second-quarter production is pegged at 87 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (MBOE/d), indicating a drop from the previous quarter’s 90 MBOE/d. This might have impacted Whiting Petroleum’s results in the June quarter.

What Does Our Model Say?

The proven Zacks model does not conclusively show that Whiting Petroleum is likely to beat estimates in the second quarter. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of beating estimates. But that’s not the case here.

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

Earnings ESP: Whiting Petroleum has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%. This is because the Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate are pegged at $2.45 per share each.

Zacks Rank: Whiting Petroleum currently carries a Zacks Rank #1, which increases the predictive power of ESP. However, the company’s 0.00% ESP makes surprise prediction difficult this earnings season.

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Stocks to Consider

While an earnings beat looks uncertain for Whiting Petroleum, here are some firms from the energy space that you may want to consider on the basis of our model:

EOG Resources, Inc. (EOG Quick QuoteEOG - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +0.50% and a Zacks Rank #1. The firm is scheduled to release earnings on Aug 4.

Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NOG Quick QuoteNOG - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +1.38% and is Zacks #2 Ranked. The firm is scheduled to release earnings on Aug 5.

Nine Energy Service, Inc. (NINE Quick QuoteNINE - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +2.16% and a Zacks Rank #2. The firm is scheduled to release earnings on Aug 5.