Barclays on U.S. Oil & Gas: E&P (Mid-Cap): 1Q11 Review

Barclays on U.S. Oil & Gas: E&P (Mid-Cap): 1Q11 Review

Barclays analyst said, "We are revising estimates for the companies in our universe that reported 1Q11 financial results during the weeks of May 2 and May 9. Increasing industry activity in liquids-centric plays such as the Bakken Shale, Eagle Ford Shale, Granite Wash, and Permian Basin have already led some companies to bump capital budgets, reflecting rising service costs and incremental leasehold expenditures. We expect cost inflation to be a persisting theme for our group as companies continue to shift capital from gas to liquids development and competition increases for prospective acreage in those areas."

"Operating Update - Key operational updates over the next several months include: Bill Barrett (NYSE: BBG) - Niobrara test; Chesapeake (NYSE: CHK) - oil and gas monetizations, sale of interests in Chaparral and Frac Tech Services; Comstock (NYSE: CRK) - Eagle Ford results; Crimson (Nasdaq: CXPO) - Bossier and Eagle Ford results; Forest (NYSE: FST) - Granite Wash and Eagle Ford results; Penn Virginia (NYSE: PVA) - Eagle Ford and Marcellus tests; Quicksilver (NYSE: KWK) - Horn River Basin and Niobrara Shale results; Plains Exploration (NYSE: PXP) - Granite Wash and Eagle Ford results; SandRidge (NYSE: SD) - 2Q11 oil growth from Mississippian oil play; Stone Energy (NYSE: SGY) - Gulf Coast and Rockies exploration; Venoco (NYSE: VQ) - Monterey Shale tests; Whiting (NYSE: WLL) - Lewis and Clark completions, other Rockies oil exploration; Cimarex (NYSE: XEC) - Bone Spring delineation, exploration results in Wolfcamp Shale."

Barclays raises PT on BBG from $48 to $53, raises FY11 EPS estimate from $1.25 to $1.55 and FY12 from $0.55 to $0.90 (OW rated)

CHK PT lowered from $46 to $42, FY11 EPS lowered from $3.10 to $3.05 and FY12 from $3.05 to $2.75 (OW rated)

XEC PT lowered from $143 to $131, FY11 EPS lowered from $7.75 to $7.40 and FY12 from $8.80 to $8.65 (OW rated)

CXO PT raised from $121 to $123, FY11 EPS estimate raised from $4.10 to $4.15 and FY12 from $5.60 to $5.90 (EW rated)

FST PT lowered from $50 to $44, FY11 EPS estimate lowered from $2.00 to $1.85 and FY12 from $2.80 to $2.85 (OW rated)

PVA PT lowered from $21 to $18, FY11 EPS lowered from -0.35 to -0.55, FY12 raised from $0.10 to $0.30 (EW rated)

SGY PT raised from $38 to $42, FY11 EPS raised from $2.60 to $4.00 and FY12 from $3.20 to $3.35 (EW rated)

VQ lowered from $25 to $20, FY11 EPS lowered from $1.20 to $0.70 and FY12 from $1.90 to $1.45 (EW rated)

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