So Whiting Petroleum (WLL) which acquired Kodiak (KOG) - remember Chrys' chart - to become ND's largest oil producer is now rumored to be seeking a buyer? WLL closed at a little over $34/sh Friday.
The WSJ reported that the company was "is the midst of auction process". Reuters reported a source familiar with " the board's thinking" was "not aware of any such plans"
A sale would really shake some things up - not the least of which would be the staking out what the "current value multiples" of Reserves/Resources/Production/Acreage would be.
Wunderlich Securities analyst Jason A. Wangler reiterated a Buy rating and $60.00 price target on WLL.
Wunderlich Securities noted, "Buy-rated Whiting Petroleum (WLL) reported a mixed 4Q14 as EPS of $0.44 were ahead of our $0.34 estimate but below the Street's forecast of $0.51 as production beat expectations but pricing and some additional costs lowered the bottom line. The company also released its full 2015 guidance, which was reduced from the early indications Whiting provided in December as commodity price weakness, specifically oil, continues to hurt the energy industry and seemingly even more so the Williston. Fresh off of its acquisition of Kodiak, the company has ample scale, a strong inventory base of high-impact wells, and is actively focused on driving down costs; all things that we believe should be able to help Whiting succeed in a lower-priced environment and we like the compelling value at these levels."
SSN Price at posting:
1.4¢ Sentiment: None Disclosure: Not Held
