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Advantage Energy Targets 15% Share Buyback as It Shifts to Free Cash Flow

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Key Points

  • Advantage Energy plans to prioritize share buybacks, allocating 50% of free cash flow to repurchases in the remainder of 2026 and at least 90% in 2027. The company aims to buy back at least 15% of its outstanding shares over the next two years while reducing some debt.
  • The company expects to complete its infrastructure spending cycle, reach approximately 90,000 BOE per day, and then hold production broadly flat through 2027 to maximize free cash flow. Its portfolio includes more than 2,400 future drilling locations and over 50 years of inventory at the current development pace.
  • Advantage is managing commodity risk by expanding hedges and diversifying sales away from AECO natural-gas pricing. Its Glacier carbon-capture project is fully operational and is expected to reduce emissions from the facility by more than 85% once fully ramped up.
  • Five stocks to consider instead of Advantage Energy.

Advantage Energy TSE: AAV outlined plans to prioritize share repurchases over the next two years as the company completes a major infrastructure spending cycle and targets stable production through the end of 2027.

Speaking at an EnerCom event, Brian Bagnell, Advantage Energy’s vice president of commodities and capital markets, said the company expects to use 50% of free cash flow during the remainder of 2026 for buybacks and at least 90% of free cash flow in 2027. He said the company expects to repurchase at least 15% of its outstanding shares over the next 24 months.

“We think our share price, we think where we sit today, we’re undervalued relative to the quality of our assets and our future development opportunities,” Bagnell said. “We’ll continue to buy back stock so long as it’s below intrinsic value.”

Production and asset base

Advantage described itself as a roughly C$2.5 billion enterprise-value company with concentrated Montney and Charlie Lake holdings in Western Canada. The company has 316 net sections of Montney rights in Alberta and British Columbia, along with 251 sections of Charlie Lake rights in Alberta, according to Bagnell.

The company’s 2026 production guidance is between 81,000 and 85,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, though Bagnell said output had recently reached 90,000 BOE per day following the startup of a new gas plant. Production is approximately 85% natural gas and 15% liquids, with liquids expected to account for about half of 2026 revenue.

Advantage said it has more than 2,400 future drilling locations, representing more than 50 years of inventory at its current development pace. More than 20 years of that inventory is classified by the company as Tier 1.

The company’s core production is centered in northwest Alberta, where the Montney accounts for roughly 80% to 85% of output. Bagnell said its Glacier and Wembley assets are more mature and focused on free-cash-flow generation, while the Attachie and Progress areas are at earlier stages of development.

Infrastructure and well performance

Advantage operates 500 million cubic feet per day of gas-processing capacity, including the 425 million cubic feet per day Glacier Gas Plant and the 75 million cubic feet per day Progress Gas Plant, which entered service during the second quarter of 2026.

Bagnell said owned infrastructure gives Advantage greater control over costs, reliability and the pace of development. The Glacier asset produces roughly two-thirds of company output and is operating in what he described as a harvesting mode, with no near-term expansion planned for the facility.

The company also highlighted its recent drilling results. Bagnell said Advantage drilled the top nine wells among the top 20 Alberta Montney wells last year, including what he called the best well ever drilled in the Alberta Montney. All 12 wells drilled by Advantage during the year ranked among the top 20 wells in the basin, he said.

At Valhalla, Advantage recently drilled a three-well pad that averaged nearly 1,400 BOE per day and was 44% liquids. The company is also awaiting results from a two-well, three-mile lateral pad at Progress later this year.

  • Glacier: A gas-weighted flagship asset producing about two-thirds of company volumes.
  • Valhalla and Progress: Potential next development areas supported by the new Progress Gas Plant.
  • Wembley and Charlie Lake: Assets targeted for relatively stable output and free-cash-flow generation.
  • Northeast British Columbia: Future optionality at Conroy and Attachie, including a mothballed 100 million cubic feet per day gas plant.

Capital allocation and shareholder returns

Advantage plans to spend roughly C$300 million annually under its three-year plan, which Bagnell said is designed to support production growth of about 7% to 8% annually and reach the 90,000 BOE-per-day level. Once that production level is reached, the company plans to hold output flat through the end of 2027 to maximize free cash flow.

Bagnell said the company has grown adjusted funds flow, or cash flow, per share at a 16% compound annual rate over the last six years, while production per share rose at a 14% compound annual rate.

In addition to buybacks, Advantage expects to complete some debt repayment during the remainder of 2026. Bagnell said this objective should be achievable based on its hedging book and current forward commodity prices.

Commodity risk and emissions efforts

Bagnell acknowledged the pressure on AECO natural-gas prices in recent years. He said Advantage is about half hedged for the remainder of 2026 and is building hedge positions through 2027, 2028 and 2029. The company has also added 60,000 gigajoules per day of natural-gas market diversification away from AECO during the past 12 months.

Advantage’s Entropy Inc. subsidiary operates a carbon capture and sequestration project at the Glacier Gas Plant. Bagnell said the project is fully operational and, once fully ramped up, is expected to reduce Glacier emissions by more than 85%.

About Advantage Energy (TSE:AAV)

Advantage Energy Ltd supplies clean, affordable, reliable, and sustainable Canadian energy to power the needs of Canada and the world. It is focused on the development and delineation of its Montney natural gas and liquids resource at Glacier, Wembley/Pipestone, Valhalla, and Progress, Alberta.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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