UPDATE: Raymond James Downgrades National Fuel Gas Co. to Market Perform, Removes PT on Fair Valuation

In a report published Thursday, Raymond James analyst Kevin Smith downgraded the rating on National Fuel Gas Co. NFG from Outperform to Market Perform, and removed the $74.00 price target. In the report, Raymond James noted, “By almost all measures, National Fuel Gas had a very strong year. Through its Western Development Area (WDA) delineation program, the company has added over 1,000 drilling locations (~1 Tcfe of reserve potential) that are economical in a sub $4/MMBtu gas price environment. Due to its increased drilling inventory, successful Lycoming drilling results, plus its solid midstream performance, the stock is up 33% year-to-date. However, after updating our total company NAV to incorporate a slower development pace vs. our previous model and higher basis differentials, in our view, the stock is fairly valued. Therefore, we are downgrading our rating on National Fuel Gas' stock to Market Perform from Outperform.” National Fuel Gas Co. closed on Wednesday at $67.53.