Continental Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CLR), the shale exploration giant majority-owned by billionaire Harold Hamm, stock fell 7.99% (As on Feb 15, 12:11:04 AM UTC-4, Source: Google Finance) after the company sees oil production swelling as much as 28% this year as its new Permian assets add to output. Continental produced the equivalent of 340,168 barrels of crude in the final three months of the year, higher than the 334,900 barrels analysts had been targeting. Capital expenditures will rise about 47% this year to $2.3 billion. It also boosted its share repurchase program.

Meanwhile, the top explorer in the Bakken shale patch of North Dakota is the first of several large independent operators in the U.S. to report fourth-quarter results this week. The wave of earnings will give investors a better sense of how well explorers are sticking with newfound financial discipline even as crude is forecast to march higher than $100 a barrel.

CLR in the fourth quarter of FY 21 has reported the adjusted earnings per share of $1.79, beating the analysts’ estimates for the adjusted earnings per share of $1.73, according to Zacks Investment Research. The company had reported the adjusted revenue of $1.93 billion in the fourth quarter of FY 21, beating the analysts’ estimates for revenue of $1.7 billion.

The company has increased the quarterly dividend to $0.23 per Share (~1.7% Dividend Yield), is targeting 2.0% or Greater Yield Long Term and has increased the Share Buyback Program from $1.0 B to $1.5 B (Inclusive of $441 MM Repurchased to Date).

For fiscal 2022, the company has projected $5.2 B CFO3, $2.9 B Projected FCF, ~15% FCF Yield (Non-GAAP), that includes $2.3 B Capex Budget; ~$30 WTI FCF Breakeven Price and 1,040 -1,140 MMcfpd Avg. Daily Production. The company has also Projected  ROCE of 21% and less than 1.0x Net Debt (Non-GAAP) to EBITDAX (Non-GAAP) Target by YE22 or Earlier. The company also expects to pump between 195,000 and 205,000 barrels a day of crude in 2022, well above the 160,647 barrels a day it produced in 2021, it said in an earnings statement. The boost comes after Continental surprised investors three months ago by announcing a $3.25 billion deal to acquire assets in the Permian Basin after a 20-year quest to gain a stake in the world’s biggest shale field. It said at the time that more could be coming, alluding to attractive assets adjacent to the newly acquired Permian acreage.