Erste Group bullish on EMEA Oil & Gas on strong fundamentals

OMV Petrom SA

28/03/2024 11:26

** Erste Group research is bullish on EMEA Oil & Gas
companies, noting robust fundamentals, strong cash flows and
does not expect the outside environment to deteriorate
    ** The broker forecasts only slight refining margins fall
from the record highs of 2022/23, with a crude oil price likely
to rise due to limited supply growth and robust demand
    ** It forecasts the Brent price from 2025 to be at an
average of $100/barrel, while natural gas prices could stabilize
at 30 EUR/MWh in Europe, adding that petrochemical margins might
rebound only slowly from the recent bottoms 
    ** Its top pick in the sector is Romanian OMV Petrom
 ROSNP.BX , citing its strong balance sheet, rich dividend
payments and the Neptun Deep project
    ** It ups Austrian OMV  OMVV.VI  to "buy" from "accumulate",
citing supporting fundamentals, as the only weak area lies in
chemicals, adding that merging Borouge and Borealis could be a
significant stock price catalyst
    ** Erste Group research ups MOL  MOLB.BU  to "accumulate"
from "hold", saying the Hungarian oil and gas group enjoys the
current environment, however still sees the risk of special
taxation due to the budget deficit in Hungary

 (Reporting by Tristan Veyet)
 ((Tristan.chabba@thomsonreuters.com))