UPDATE: Bank of America Upgrades Williams Partners LP to Buy, Raises PT Following Improvements in NGL Fundamentals/Frac Spreads

In a report published Friday, Bank of America analyst Gabe Moreen upgraded the rating on Williams Partners LP (NYSE: WPZ) from Neutral to Buy, and raised the price target from $51.00 to $55.00.In the report, Bank of America noted, “We upgrade WPZ to Buy (from Neutral) due to recent improvement in natural gas liquid (NGL) fundamentals and frac spreads, the removal of WPZ's near-term equity overhang, and its relative underperformance YTD. While NGL prices remain depressed (down 31% since 2012), we have seen a rebound since June 2013 (up 20%) driven in part by improving propane prices. For propane, it appears recent incremental export capacity coming online has positively impacted prices. We believe improvement in NGL prices and frac spreads (and what may appear to at least be a trough) bodes well for WPZ's commodity sensitive businesses (35% of total 2013E EBITDA) given its less aggressive hedge program. We note our upgrade is not predicated on further NGL price improvement.”Williams Partners LP closed on Thursday at $49.33.