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Strategies & Market Trends : Market Gems:Stocks w/Strong Earnings and High Tech. Rank -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jenna who wrote (9157)	5/7/1998 1:55:00 PM
From: Jenna	Respond to of 120523

CGP....on earnings play watch list: COASTAL CORP <CGP.N> SETS TWO-FOR-ONE STOCK SPLIT. It also added that it is on target to reach its goal of 15 percent earnings growth in 1998, chairman David Arledge said on Thursday. HOUSTON, May 7 (Reuters) - The Coastal Corp. said Thursday its board of directors has authorized a 2-for-1 stock split. The company said the additional shares will be distributed on July 1 to shareholders of record on May 29. Coastal said it will have about 212.09 million shares of common stock and 361,190 shares of class A common stock following the split. The company also set a new cash dividend, which will be $0.25 per share after giving effect to the split. The company said it effectively increased the cash dividend by 25 percent from the previous $0.10 per share. The cash dividend will also be paid on July 1. ((-- New York Newsdesk 212 859-1610, Fax 212 859-1717)) ********************************************** COASTAL <CGP.N> SETS 1998 CAPITAL SPENDING BUDGET AT $1.2 BILLION HOUSTON, May 7 (Reuters) - Coastal Corp. is on target to reach its goal of 15 percent earnings growth in 1998, chairman David Arledge said on Thursday. He also told shareholders at the annual meeting that the energy and refining company would boost capital spending in 1998 to $1.2 billion, up from $997 million last year. "Strong first quarter results position us to achieve our targeted 1998 annual earnings growth of at least 15 percent," Arledge said. The company earned $1.10 a share in the first three months of this year. "Our projected 1998 capital budget of $1.2 billion...continues Coastal's commitment to aggressive earnings growth," he said. Arledge said the company would step up its natural gas production in 1998 to 600 million cubic feet a day, up 40 percent from 1997. He said Coastal believes gas prices will stay in the range of $2 to $3 per thousand cubic feet. "We believe that is... a realistic forecast for the next several years. It is a level that suppports our expanding exploration and production investments," Arledge said. He said North American gas producers will generally have to step up production because of forecasts that gas consumption on the continent will be 34 percent higher in 2010 than it is today. Much of the new gas will come from Canada. "Currently, Canada supplies about 13 percent of the U.S. market -- about three trillion cubic feet a year. Our view is that Canadian exports have the potential to at least double by the year 2010," Arledge said. He said Coastal currently has no gas assets in Canada but will be looking to buy production or start it by the second half of 2000 to meet supply commitments.