B.Riley analyst Nick Giles upgraded Hallador Energy (NASDAQ: HNRG) from Neutral to Buy with a price target of $27.00 (from $23.00).

The analyst comments: "We are upgrading Hallador Energy Company (HNRG, PT from $23 to $27) from Neutral to Buy as the company appears poised to announce its first long-term PPA at Merom. While reaching any deal has taken longer, Hallador emphasized that deal economics have only strengthened, particularly for accredited capacity, and we believe the HRNG equity offers attractive risk-reward at these levels. HNRG noted that multiple deals with different counterparties appear most likely, a shift from prior guidance of a single deal for the majority of capacity. On the operating side, the 1Q outlook was below prior expectations due to outages that were caused by equipment failures, meaning that HNRG was unable to take advantage of the elevated power prices during Winter Storm Fern. Hallador will take the necessary downtime in May to make repairs (~60 days). While these disruptions are a short-term blemish, we do not believe they should stand in the way of the larger opportunity at play."

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Shares of Hallador Energy closed at $19.33 yesterday.