Cabot Oil & Gas Issues Prelim. 2019 Operating Plan; Announces Dividend Increase

(RTTNews) - Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. (COG) announced its preliminary 2019 production growth guidance range of 20 to 25 percent (25 to 30 percent on a debt-adjusted per share basis). The production growth range is based on a capital budget of $800 million to $850 million. The 2019 program is expected to deliver between $650 million and $700 million of free cash flow. Cabot plans to distribute greater than 50 percent of free cash flow to shareholders annually through a combination of dividends and share repurchases.

"Our preliminary 2019 operating plan and capital budget can deliver greater than 60 percent growth in earnings per share, an improvement in ROCE to over 20 percent, and a free cash flow yield over seven percent based on our current market capitalization" said Dan Dinges, CEO.

Third-quarter 2018 daily equivalent production was 2,029 Mmcfe per day, a 10 percent increase relative to the third-quarter of 2017. On a divestiture-adjusted basis, third-quarter 2018 daily equivalent production increased 19 percent relative to the prior-year comparable quarter.

Cabot has reaffirmed its previously announced fourth-quarter 2018 net production guidance of 2,225 to 2,275 Mmcfe per day. The company has also reaffirmed its previously announced 2018 daily production growth guidance range of 7 to 8 percent (12 to 13 percent on a debt-adjusted per share basis) and its full-year capital budget of $940 million.

Cabot's Board approved a 17 percent increase in its quarterly cash dividend on common stock. Effective with the dividend payable on November 16, 2018, to holders of record as of November 7, 2018, the board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.07 per share on its common stock.