Rodman & Renshaw Reiterates Outperform Rating on Energy Partners

Rodman & Renshaw is out with a research report this afternoon, where it reiterates its Outperform rating on Energy Partners

; it has a $22.00 price target on the stock. The R&R analysts cited the company's recent announcement that it will repurchase up to $20 million of its common shares, which is to be executed on the open market and in privately negotiated transactions. This would represent ~1.6 million shares (as of Friday's closing price), or ~4% of the company's fully diluted share count. While it has not yet been in the market, EPL thinks it could theoretically accomplish the full buyback over 30-45 days. As for valuation, the analysts remarked, “No change to our MO rating, which gains conviction on management's move to buy back shares. We arrive at our target price by applying a 1x multiple to our NAV of the company's proved and risked upside reserves, valued at long-term prices of $90/Bbl and $6.00/Mcf.”