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Here's Why WPX Energy is a Solid Investment Choice Right Now

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WPX Energy’s earnings estimates have been revised upward over the past 60 days, reflecting analysts’ confidence in the stock. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2018 and 2019 earnings has also moved up 33.3% and 8.1%, respectively, to 20 cents and 80 cents per share, over the same time frame.

WPX Energy, currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock, engages in the production of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids.
 
Let’s focus on the factors that make WPX Energy a stock to bet on for obtaining greater returns.

Earnings Surprise Trend and Estimates Movement:  WPX Energy delivered a positive earnings surprise in three out of the past four quarters, with an average beat of 24.52%.

Its 2018 and 2019 earnings estimates moved up 147.62% and 295.42% year over year to 20 cents and 80 cents, respectively. WPX Energy’s 2018 and 2019 total revenue estimates also moved up 25.86% and 37.13% year over year to $1.93B and $2.65B, respectively.

VGM Score: The stock has an impressive VGM Score of A. Here V stands for Value, G for Growth and M for Momentum, with the score being a weighted combination of all the three factors. Back-tested results show that stocks with a favorable VGM Score of A or B coupled with a solid Zacks Rank offer the best investment options.

Focus on Oil: WPX Energy has transformed itself from a natural gas-focused company to an oil-focused one. The company has been able to do so through nearly $8 billion of transactions. At present, nearly 80% production of the company is liquid and the rest comprises natural gas. It was simply the opposite five years ago.

WPX Energy now anticipates total production for the current year in the range of 122-130 thousand barrels of oil-equivalent per day (Mboe/d), up from prior expectation of 117-126 Mboe/d. The company expects oil production in 2018 within 78-82 thousand barrels per day (Mbbl/d), up from the 2017 level of 61.3 Mbbl/d. It is well poised to benefit from the ongoing improvement in crude oil prices.

Capital Investment: WPX Energy continues to invest in a systematic manner, in order to strengthen its operation in the Delaware and Williston Basins, and further increase its oil production. WPX Energy plans to invest in the range of $1,170-$1,220 million in drilling and completion activities in 2018.

Price Movement

All the above factors contributed to strong performance of the company and the momentum is expected to continue over the long run. WPX Energy has returned 82.9% in the past 12 months, outperforming its industry’s rally of 15.5%.

 



Key Picks

Some better-ranked stocks in the same industry include Denbury Resources Inc. , Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NOG - Free Report) , and Energen Corporation , each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here

Denbury Resources, Northern Oil and Gas, and Energen delivered positive earnings surprises of 30%, 12.5% and 2.67%, respectively, in their last reported quarter.

Denbury Resources, Northern Oil and Gas, and Energen’s earnings estimates for 2018 have moved up 20%, 19.6% and 2.7%, respectively, over the past 60 days.

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