This CLR Stock Forecast article was written by Yuxiao Yang – Financial Analyst at I Know First.

Highlights

• Continental has a significant competitive advantage as the largest leaseholder and the largest producer in the nation’s premier oil field in Bakken.
• CLR increased crude oil production by 28% in the 1Q2022.
• This year will be the 7^th Consecutive Year of Positive FCF of CLR.

Overview

Continental Resources (NYSE: CLR) is a top 10 independent oil producer, based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Continental has material Positions in 4 World-Class Basins: Bakken with 825,000 Acres, Power River with 390,000 Acres, Anadarko with 450,000 Acres, and Permian with 170,000 Acres. Continental has a significant competitive advantage as the largest leaseholder and the largest producer in the nation’s premier oil field in Bakken of North Dakota and Montana. It also has a premier position in the SCOOP and STACK plays of the Anadarko Basin of Oklahoma and newly acquired positions in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming and Permian Basin of Texas.

Leveraging Strategic Advantages

Revenues from the global oil and gas exploration and production industry will grow. The overall decline in demand for Russian oil has led to increased demand for U.S. producers. The resumption of production activity also spurred demand for oil and natural gas, and global economic growth will support higher commodity prices. Natural gas production is also expected to expand. Especially for the Bakken group in North Dakotamay. In addition, the increased use of natural gas in power generation will continue to drive demand for natural gas and stimulate growth in natural gas production.

This upward trend will be a significant driver of the company’s profit. According to the most recent 10-Q form of CLR, there is a 28% increase in crude oil production in the 2022 Q1. It was primarily driven by property acquisitions in the Permian Basin and Powder River. Additionally, crude oil production in the Bakken increased by 581 MBbls, increased 6%, compared to the 2021 Q1. Non-GAAP Net sales totaled $2.20 billion for the 2022 Q1, there is an 84% increase compared to 2021 Q1. Other than increasing the production of oil and natural gas, Continental added strategic Minerals, Surface, Water, & Infrastructure Ownership and active drilling programs in All 4 Basins. There is 600 K net added acres over the past 18 months.

Strong production growth supported the company’s impressive financial performance. This year will be the 7th Consecutive Year of Positive FCF of CLR. It was primarily driven by property acquisitions of Delaware Basin from Pioneer Natural Resources. Other strong financial performance also shows positive signals to investors. CLR outperformed most of the companies in the Oil & Gas industry. CLR’s ROE is 28.45% that better than 83.75% of companies in the Oil & Gas industry. The Net Margin is 31.63%, which is higher than 85.16% of companies in the industry.

The Altman Z-score, which determines the result of a credit test, stays in the Grey zone. At the same time, CLR looks interesting in terms of the Piotroski F-Score. Piotroski F-score is a number between 0 and 9 that is used to assess the soundness of a company’s financial position. A score of 8 may indicate that the company’s stock is undervalued and can be interpreted by investors as a good signal to buy the stock.

The Yahoo Finance coverage for the company is performed by 32 analysts: 11 and 13 of them take Strong Buy and Buy positions, while 7 of them take the Hold position. The analysts’ community puts the average target price for the stock at $75.68 while it is currently traded at $72.66.

Conclusion

It’s reasonable to believe CLR is a buy stock. Continental’s production arrangement and acquisition strategy enable it to meet the increasing requirements in oil and gas and achieve significant revenue growth. Moreover, the company’s unique strategic advantage in the Bakken area makes its upward trend bound to become stronger. Strong production growth and profit performance supported the company’s impressive financial performance across the Oil & Gas Industry. Furthermore, CLR looks promising in the context of the Piotroski F-Score with the current score of 8.

It is worth paying attention that the stock-picking AI of I Know First has a high signal on the one-year market trend forecasts, supporting my position for the CLR stock forecast. The light green for the short-term forecasts is mildly bullish, while the darker green is a strong bullish signal for the one-year forecast.

Past Success With CLR Stock Forecast

I Know First has been bullish on the CLR stock forecast in the past. On June 6^th, 2021 the I Know First algorithm issued a forecast for CLR stock price and recommended CLR as one of the best stocks to buy. The AI-driven CLR stock prediction was successful on a 1-year time horizon resulting in more than 106.22%.

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Please note-for trading decisions use the most recent forecast.