QEP - Why QEP Resources Matador Resources and Denbury Resources All Tanked Today
Shares of onshore U.S. exploration and production (E&P) company QEP Resources (NYSE: QEP) fell as much as 17% on June 24. Peers Matador Resources (NYSE: MTDR) and Denbury Resources (NYSE: DNR) both declined around 14%. By 3 p.m. Wall Street time, QEP and Denbury had recouped some of their losses, and were down 14% and 10%, respectively. Matador's shares, however, were still hovering near their lowest levels, off by nearly 14% for the day.
The cause of the steep price declines at these oil and natural gas companies isn't hard to figure out -- energy prices fell sharply. West Texas Intermediate, the benchmark for U.S. oil, was off by around 6% late in the day. Since the financial results of all three of these E&P names are tied directly to the prices of the commodities they sell, the stocks logically declined. But that's just the top level here.
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