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Wildhorse Expands Eagle Ford Foothold, Buys 20,305 Net Acres

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Wildhorse Resource Development Corporation (WRD - Free Report) recently inked two separate acquisition deals, in a bid to expand its footprint in the Eagle Ford Shale. The Houston-based upstream player, which is one of the largest operators in the Northeast Eagle Ford Play, is set to buy 20,305 net acres. The said acreage will be located in Eagle Ford, Austin Chalk and other leases in Burleson, Brazos, Lee and Washington counties. Production constitutes 39 barrels of oil equivalent per day across the said counties. The terms of the transaction have been still kept under wraps. The selling parties have not been disclosed as well.

Earlier this year, Wildhorse had leased around 10,700 net acres of Eagle Ford and Austin Chalk regions. Hence with the latest move, the company acquired a total of 31,005 net acres in the Eagle Ford for a total consideration of approximately $43 million in 2018. Notably, Wildhorse holds a total of 418,000 net acres in the Eagle Ford.

Importantly, the company is committed to sharpen its focus on the Eagle Ford and Austin Chalk. In this regard, it jettisoned its North Louisiana assets holdings for $217 million in February. Given this, the company has become a pure play Eagle Ford operator with a 70% oil-weighted portfolio. Notably, its sharp focus on the prolific Eagle ford shale skyrocketed output growth of the company by 107% year over year in the second quarter of 2018.

Nonetheless, it delivered weaker-than-expected earnings in the last reported quarter, generating EPS of $0.39, which lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.47. Increased cost and expenses led to lower-than-expected earnings. The company is also grappling with elevated leverage, with debt levels mounting to $935 million in the second quarter of 2018 compared with $770 million in the first quarter. Wildhorse currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

Meanwhile, investors interested in the same industry can consider Magnolia Oil & Gas Corporation (MGY - Free Report) , Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NOG - Free Report) and Denbury Resources Inc. . While Magnolia sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Northern Oil and Gas and Denbury both carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Magnolia’s 2019 earnings are expected to grow 6.9% year over year.

Northern Oil and Gas’ earnings for the next year are likely to grow 18.7% year over year.

Denbury’s earnings are expected to grow 47.9% year over year in 2019.

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