Crescent Energy (CRGY) Valuation Update - May 6
Posted: Tue May 06, 2025 11:26 am
Crescent Energy uses the Successful Efforts method of accounting, which is more conservative than the Full Cost method used by most companies of this size. Under the Successful Efforts rules, Exploration expense is a current expense and they have to use the FAS 121 rules for impairment of individual assets. Add to this the extremely misleading SEC rules for hedges and Reported Net Income is a worthless number.
Crescent Energy's Q1 "reported" net income was a loss $2.15 million because it included $45.6 million impairment losses and $80.2 million of non-cash mark-to-market loss on their hedges.
The Company's Adjusted Net Income of $143 million and Adjusted Operating Cash Flow of $432.4 million beat my forecast. Q1 production was also higher than my forecast.
They did lower their 2025 production guidance slightly due to the impact of a non-core assets, the proceeds from which paid off some debt ( a good thing). Production mix of 42% natural gas, 18% NGLs and 40% crude oil is also a PLUS for me.
I have updated my forecast/valuation model for Q1 results, fresh guidance and updated hedges.
My stock valuation stays at $19.00/share, which is just 3X annualized operating cash flow.
TipRanks consensus forecast for 2025 is actually higher than my forecast. TipRanks forecast is $6.60 operating CFPS this year, which compares to my forecast of $6.17. < There is nothing I see than justifies CRGY trading for less than 1.5 X CFPS. It is free cash flow positive, pays a decent dividend and it has lots of "Running Room" in South Texas
TipRanks: "In the last 3 months, 9 ranked analysts set 12-month price targets for CRGY. The average price target among the analysts is $16.25." < The 9 price targets range from $12 to $21.
At the time of this post CRGY was trading at $7.82. Dividend yield is ~6.1% at that price.
My updated forecast/valuation model will be posted to the EPG website this afternoon.
Crescent Energy's Q1 "reported" net income was a loss $2.15 million because it included $45.6 million impairment losses and $80.2 million of non-cash mark-to-market loss on their hedges.
The Company's Adjusted Net Income of $143 million and Adjusted Operating Cash Flow of $432.4 million beat my forecast. Q1 production was also higher than my forecast.
They did lower their 2025 production guidance slightly due to the impact of a non-core assets, the proceeds from which paid off some debt ( a good thing). Production mix of 42% natural gas, 18% NGLs and 40% crude oil is also a PLUS for me.
I have updated my forecast/valuation model for Q1 results, fresh guidance and updated hedges.
My stock valuation stays at $19.00/share, which is just 3X annualized operating cash flow.
TipRanks consensus forecast for 2025 is actually higher than my forecast. TipRanks forecast is $6.60 operating CFPS this year, which compares to my forecast of $6.17. < There is nothing I see than justifies CRGY trading for less than 1.5 X CFPS. It is free cash flow positive, pays a decent dividend and it has lots of "Running Room" in South Texas
TipRanks: "In the last 3 months, 9 ranked analysts set 12-month price targets for CRGY. The average price target among the analysts is $16.25." < The 9 price targets range from $12 to $21.
At the time of this post CRGY was trading at $7.82. Dividend yield is ~6.1% at that price.
My updated forecast/valuation model will be posted to the EPG website this afternoon.