Raymond James downgrades U.S. natgas cos on bearish sector outlook
06/02/2023 16:17
** Raymond James downgrades ratings for natural gas
exploration and production (E&P) companies on weaker outlook for
sector
** Brokerage downgrades Black Stone Minerals BSM.N to
"outperform" from "strong buy"; says co's estimated gas
distribution for FY23 has dropped ~5%
** Antero Resources Corp AR.N downgraded to "market
perform" from "strong buy"; says co's pace of share buybacks
will fall compared to 2022
** BSM and AR stocks fall between 1.0% and 3.8%,
respectively
** Brokerage also downgrades Southwestern Energy SWN.N ,
Coterra Energy Inc CTRA.N and National Fuel Gas Co NFG.N to
"market perform" from "outperform"
** Shares of SWN, CTRA and NFG down between 1.8% and 2.7%
** Brokerage is bearish on natural gas sector until 2025
** Says Henry Hub prices (major natural gas distribution hub
in the U.S.) fell ~60% since December; says the Hub will remain
depressed through 2024
** Shares of BSM and AR gained 63.3% and 77%, respectively,
in 2022
** SWN, CTRA were up 25.5% and 29.3%, respectively, while
NFG slipped ~1%, in 2022
(Reporting by Shristi Achar A in Bengaluru)
((Shristi.AcharA@thomsonreuters.com;))