Q: On May 9th, there was a question from James about when MEG Energy might start a dividend. In their recent Q1 earnings report, they stated that once a debt level of $600 million was reached, which they expect by the 2nd half of 2023, 100% of free cash flow will be returned to shareholders. I would expect this means some combination of share buybacks and dividends.
In Q1, the company had approx $500 million of free cash flow, which is about $2.0 billion for a year at that rate. There are 307 million shares o/s currently, so that would equate to roughly $6.50 a share. If half went to share buybacks, then that would leave roughly $3.25 for a dividend, which would be about a 17% yield on the current share price. Of course, energy pricing could change significantly (up or down) between now and then.
In Q1, the company had approx $500 million of free cash flow, which is about $2.0 billion for a year at that rate. There are 307 million shares o/s currently, so that would equate to roughly $6.50 a share. If half went to share buybacks, then that would leave roughly $3.25 for a dividend, which would be about a 17% yield on the current share price. Of course, energy pricing could change significantly (up or down) between now and then.
