Advertisement
Australia markets closed

  • ALL ORDS

    7,937.50
    -0.40 (-0.01%)
     

  • ASX 200

    7,683.00
    -0.50 (-0.01%)
     

  • AUD/USD

    0.6497
    +0.0008 (+0.13%)
     

  • OIL

    82.89
    +0.08 (+0.10%)
     

  • GOLD

    2,330.10
    -8.30 (-0.35%)
     

  • Bitcoin AUD

    98,787.73
    -3,491.10 (-3.41%)
     

  • CMC Crypto 200

    1,387.14
    -36.96 (-2.60%)
     

  • AUD/EUR

    0.6070
    +0.0014 (+0.23%)
     

  • AUD/NZD

    1.0945
    +0.0015 (+0.13%)
     

  • NZX 50

    11,946.43
    +143.15 (+1.21%)
     

  • NASDAQ

    17,526.80
    +55.33 (+0.32%)
     

  • FTSE

    8,040.38
    -4.43 (-0.06%)
     

  • Dow Jones

    38,460.92
    -42.77 (-0.11%)
     

  • DAX

    18,088.70
    -48.95 (-0.27%)
     

  • Hang Seng

    17,201.27
    +372.34 (+2.21%)
     

  • NIKKEI 225

    38,460.08
    +907.92 (+2.42%)
     

Southwestern (SWN) Rewards Shareholders With $1B Buyback Plan

Zacks Equity Research
·2-min read

Southwestern Energy Company SWN recently received authorization from the board of directors for a share repurchase program.

The buyback plan entails repurchasing up to $1 billion of outstanding common shares through the end of 2023. Southwestern Energy added that the repurchases will begin immediately and be done from time to time in open market transactions. This reflects Southwestern Energy’s strong commitment to returning capital to shareholders.

Southwestern Energy is also prioritizing reducing debt load to make its balance sheet investment grade. By the end of this year, SWN is focusing on a target leverage ratio of 1.5 to 1.0. By next year-end, Southwestern Energy is planning for a debt range of $3 billion to $3.5 billion.

SWN believes that with the improvement of the commodity pricing scenario along with successful operational execution and Haynesville integration, the company is well-positioned to generate handsome cashflows. This will aid SWN in returning capital to stockholders and strengthen financials while lowering exposure to debt capital.

ADVERTISEMENT

Currently, Southwestern Energy carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A few better-ranked players in the energy space are Antero Resources AR, Whiting Petroleum WLL and Cheniere Energy, Inc. LNG. All the stocks sport a Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Antero Resources is a leading upstream energy player with a strong presence in the gas-rich prolific Appalachian Basin in West Virginia and Ohio. In the past 60 days, Antero Resources has witnessed upward earnings estimate revisions for 2022 and 2023.

The substantial exposure to improving commodity price is a huge positive for Antero Resources.

Whiting Petroleum is a leading upstream energy company and the top producer of crude oil in North Dakota. With oil prices improving rapidly, Whiting Petroleum is expected to continue generating handsome cash flows while maintaining a healthy balance sheet.

Headquartered in Denver, CO, Whiting Petroleum has witnessed upward earnings estimate revisions for 2022 and 2023 in the past 30 days.

Prospects for Cheniere Energy look bright since the firm is a leading producer and exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the domestic market. It is a clear fact that Cheniere Energy is well-positioned to capitalize on the improving demand for LNG.

For 2022, Cheniere Energy is likely to see earnings growth of more than 260%.


Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
 
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.