Out Fox The $treet

The amount of long-term growth forecasted by Antero Resources Corporation ( NYSE: AR     ) is almost unheard of outside of social media stocks, especially for a company with a greater than $15 billion market cap. The Marcellus and Utica Shale natural gas exploration and production firm is probably mostly unknown by investors after going public last October. Despite production growth rates of over 100% and heading toward nearly 950 MMcfe/d during 2014, the company continues to forecast growth rates in excess of 50% in both 2015 and 2016. At this point, Antero appears to be overcoming the infrastructure bottlenecks that have disturbed Marcellus production by Cabot Oil & Gas ( NYSE: COG     ) and Utica growth at Gulfport Energy Corp ( NASDAQ: GPOR     ). The biggest question is whether the growth at Antero can be maintained as guided. Read the full article here . Disclosure: No positions mentioned. Please review the disclaimer page fo...

A constant conundrum for investors in the exploration and production sector is deriving a valid valuation based on normalized pricing for the commodity produced. The issue has come to the forefront with the quick rise of shale regions that see explosive growth that outstrips infrastructure, leading to lower pricing realizations for a period of time. Typically, it's only a matter of time before the bottlenecks are worked out; the short-term impact is difficult to derive, however. A prime example is Cabot Oil & Gas ( NYSE: COG     ) . The company achieved production of 1 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) in the Marcellus shale within six years of starting drilling. Due to this massive production growth, the company is struggling with the price it obtains for natural gas. In the first quarter, Cabot only obtained a price realization of $3.74 per million cubic feet (Mcf) compared to substantially higher prices. In total, the company had price real...

With natural gas inventories close to decade lows, investors would probably prefer an exploration and production firm with limited hedges to participate in the potential price appreciation of the commodity. It is a double-edged sword to risk production and long-term capital investments without knowing the future price, but in the current market it's undoubtedly disappointing to invest in a firm with extensive hedges at lower prices. Range Resources Corp ( NYSE: RRC     ) is one of the largest and fastest-growing producers in the Marcellus Shale. The company has some of the most prolific wells helping it produce growth in excess of 20%. Unfortunately, the company is heavily hedged and not fully participating in the suddenly higher natural gas prices. It also will not benefit in a meaningful way in future price spikes over the next couple of years. Read the full article here . Disclosure: No positions mentioned. Please review the disclaimer page for more d...

Despite prolific Marcellus shale wells detailed in the fourth-quarter earnings review, Cabot Oil & Gas ( NYSE: COG     ) made a recent decision to expand drilling assets in the Eagle Ford. The company continues to face infrastructure and price realization issues in the Marcellus that are impacting short-term investment decisions. In six short years, the company has already reached total production in the Marcellus shale of 1 trillion cubic feet on only 290 wells. Even more interesting, the company has 51 wells in various stages of reaching production, including waiting on pipelines and completions. Based on that data and recent Eagle Ford drilling results, maybe investors shouldn't be surprised by the move to add a rig and capital spending to oil production in that area. Read the full article here . Disclosure: No positions mentioned. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

The recent IPO of Rice Energy ( NYSE: RICE     ) brought investors an exploration and production firm with substantial growth in the Marcellus shale. With all of the hype recently on cloud software and biotech stocks, the company hasn't gotten the deserved attention. Rice Energy is a unique energy firm that claims to be the first of the shale generation with the youngest management team in the industry. The company has a highly concentrated acreage position in the core areas of the Marcellus and Utica. Read the full article here . Disclosure: Long ANR. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

In reporting its fourth quarter results, Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation ( NYSE: COG     ) again confirmed the high quality of its assets, but the report also highlighted a lingering problem. Cabot continues to produce monster wells in the Marcellus shale, yet it can't get market prices due to infrastructure snags. Similar to other firms, Cabot is reducing the projected 2014 capital spending budget while improving performance. In addition, the company is holding back on further expanding the Marcellus drilling program to seven rigs due in part to lack of infrastructure forcing the company to curtail growth efforts. Read the full article here . Disclosure: No positions mentioned. Please review the disclaimer page for more details.