Newfield (NFX) (PKD) (ACI) (NE) (NUE) (TRGP) (SCHW) Ratings, Price Targets

Newfield Exploration Co. (NFX), Parker Drilling Company (PKD), Arch Coal, Inc. (ACI), Noble Corp (NE), Nucor Co. (NUE), Targa Resources Investments Inc (TRGP) and Charles Schwab (SCHW) had ratings and price targets on them adjusted by analysts.

Goldman Sachs downgraded Newfield Exploration Co. (NFX) from a "Buy" rating to a "Neutral" rating.

Standpoint Research upgraded Parker Drilling Company (PKD) from a "Hold" rating to a "Buy" rating.

Goldman Sachs downgraded Arch Coal, Inc. (ACI) from a "Neutral" rating to a "Sell" rating.

Standpoint Research downgraded Noble Corp (NE) from a "Buy" rating to a "Hold" rating.

UBS AG upgraded Nucor Co. (NUE) from a "Neutral" rating to a "Buy" rating.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Targa Resources Investments Inc (TRGP). They placed an "Overweight" rating on the company.

Citigroup upgraded Charles Schwab (SCHW) from a "Neutral" rating to a "Buy" rating.

Newfield (NFX) (PER) (PM) (SONS) (WTS) (RCI) (ROC) Ratings, Price Targets

Newfield Exploration Co. (NFX), SandRidge Permian Trust (PER), Philip Morris (PM), Sonus Networks, Inc. (SONS), Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (WTS), Rogers Communications Inc. (RCI) and Rockwood Holdings, Inc. (ROC) had ratings and price targets on them adjusted by analysts.
Newfield Exploration Co. (NFX) was downgraded by Deutsche Bank (DB) from a "Buy" rating to a "Hold" rating.

SandRidge Permian Trust (PER) was downgraded by Raymond James (RJF) from an "Outperform" rating to a "Market Perform" rating.

Philip Morris (PM) was downgraded by Nomura (NMR) from a "Neutral" rating to a "Reduce" rating.

Sonus Networks, Inc. (SONS) was downgraded by Miller Tabak from a "Buy" rating to a "Neutral" rating.

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (WTS) was downgraded by Sterne Agee from a "Buy" rating to a "Neutral" rating.

Rogers Communications Inc. (RCI) was downgraded by BMO Capital Markets from an "Outperform" rating to a "Market Perform" rating.

Rockwood Holdings, Inc. (ROC) was downgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) from an "Overweight" rating to a "Neutral" rating.

Newfield (NFX) (EOG) (EXXI) (FST) (KWK) (MMR) EPS Estimates Changed

Newfield Exploration Co. (NYSE: NFX), EOG Resources (NYSE: EOG), Energy XXI (NASDAQ: EXXI), Forest Oil Co. (NYSE: FST), Quicksilver Resources Inc. (NYSE: KWK) and McMoRan Exploration (NYSE: MMR) had EPS estimates on them adjusted by analysts.

Newfield Exploration Co. (NFX) had its EPS estimates cut by Jefferies (NYSE:JEF). They have a “Hold” rating and a price target of $43.00 on the company.

EOG Resources (EOG) had its EPS estimates cut by Jefferies. They have a “Buy” rating and a price target of $120.00 on the company.

Energy XXI (EXXI) had its EPS estimates cut Jefferies. They have a “Hold” rating and a price target of $32.00 on the company.

Forest Oil Co. (FST) had its EPS estimates cut by Jefferies. They have a “Buy” rating and a price target of $17.00 on the company.

Quicksilver Resources Inc. (KWK) had its EPS estimates cut by Jefferies. They have a “Hold” rating and a price target of $7.00 on the company.

McMoRan Exploration (MMR) had its EPS estimates cut by Jefferies. They have a “Hold” rating and a price target of $16.00 on the company.

Newfield (NFX) (NTAP) (PPS) (CLI) (DB) (EEFT) Upgraded

Newfield Exploration Co. (NYSE: NFX), NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP), Post Properties, Inc. (NYSE: PPS), Mack-Cali Realty Corp. (NYSE: CLI), Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB) and Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ: EEFT) were upgraded by analysts.

Newfield Exploration Co. (NFX) was upgraded by Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) from an “Underperform” rating to a “Neutral” rating. They have a price target of $48.00 on the company.

NetApp Inc. (NTAP) was upgraded by FBN Securities from a “Sector Perform” rating to an “Outperform” rating.

Post Properties, Inc. (PPS) was upgraded by Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) from a “Sell” rating to a “Neutral” rating.

Mack-Cali Realty Corp. (CLI) was upgraded by Goldman Sachs from a “Neutral” rating to a “Buy” rating.

Deutsche Bank (DB) was upgraded by HSBC (NYSE:HBC) from a “Neutral” rating to an “Overweight” rating.

Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (EEFT) was upgraded by Piper Jaffray (NYSE:PJC) from a “Neutral” rating to an “Overweight” rating. They have a price target of $22.00 on the company.

Newfield (NFX) (DVN) (EOG) (KOS) (NBL) Price Targets Changed

Newfield Exploration Co. (NYSE: NFX), Devon Energy Co. (NYSE: DVN), EOG Resources (NYSE: EOG), Kosmos Energy Ltd (NYSE: KOS) and Noble Energy (NYSE: NBL) have price targets adjusted by analysts.

Devon Energy Co. (DVN) had its price target lowered by Barclays Capital from $102.00 to $94.00. They have an “Overweight” rating on the company.

EOG Resources (EOG) had its price target lowered by Barclays Capital from $148.00 to $129.00. They have an “Overweight” rating on the company.

Kosmos Energy Ltd (KOS) had its price target lowered by Barclays Capital from $21.00 to $17.00. They have an “Equal Weight” rating on the company.

Noble Energy (NBL) had its price target lowered by Barclays Capital from $119.00 to $107.00. They have an “Overweight” rating on the company.

Newfield Exploration Co. (NFX) had its price target lowered by Barclays Capital from $93.00 to $80.00. They have an “Overweight” rating on the company.

SunPower (SPWRA) (NFX) (NUE) (WHR) (STX) Price Targets Changed

SunPower Co. (NASDAQ: SPWRA), Newfield Exploration Co. (NYSE: NFX), Nucor Co. (NYSE: NUE), Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE: WHR) and Seagate (NYSE: STX) price targets adjusted by analysts.

RBC Capital raised its price target on Newfield Exploration (NFX) from $96.00 to $100.00. They have an “Outperform” rating on the company.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered its price target on Nucor Co. (NUE) to $58.00.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) raised its price target on SunPower Co. (SPWRA) to $122.00.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) lowered its price target on Whirlpool Corporation (WHR) to $82.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

Citigroup (NYSE: C) lowered its price target on Seagate (STX) to $23.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

Newfield (NFX) (TSCO) (AXP) (AAPL) (JCI) Ratings Reiterated

Newfield Exploration (NYSE: NFX), Tractor Supply Co. (NASDAQ: TSCO), American Express (NYSE: AXP), Apple, Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Johnson Controls, Inc. (NYSE: JCI) had ratings on them reiterated by analysts.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) reiterated its "Buy" rating on Newfield Exploration (NFX).

Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB) reiterated a "Buy" rating on Tractor Supply Co. (TSCO).

Piper Jaffray (NYSE: PJC) reiterated its "Overweight" rating on American Express (AXP). They have a price target of $32.00 on the company.

Scotia Capital reiterated its "Sector Perform" rating on Apple, Inc (AAPL).

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) reiterated an "Overweight" rating on Johnson Controls, Inc. (JCI).

Big Movers (ISRG) (ESL) (NFX) (FMX) (AG) on May 6

Among the big, positive movers on Friday, May 6, were Intuitive Surgical (ISRG), Esterline Technologies (ESL), Newfield Exploration (NFX), Fomento Economico (FMX) and First Majestic Silver (AG).

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) jumped $1.44, to close at $348.38, a gain of 0.42 percent.

Esterline Technologies (ESL) was up $1.43 on the day to close at $72.61, a gain of 2.01 percent.

Newfield Exploration (NFX) climbed $1.42 to close at $67.60, a gain of 2.15 percent.

Fomento Economico (FMX) rose $1.41 to close the session at $61.89, a gain of 2.33 percent.

First Majestic Silver (AG) was up $1.41 to end the day at $18.24, a gain of 8.38 percent.

Look at (PXD) (NFX) (SWN) (END) in Shale Natural Gas

Talking the potential of natural gas in shale, Rehan Rashid, energy and natural resources analyst for FBR Capital Markets, said some of the companies he likes include Endeavour International Corporation (NYSE:END), Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD), Newfield Exploration (NYSE:NFX) and Southwestern Energy (NYSE:SWN).

There is no doubt whatsoever that natural gas will become a huge source of energy in the United States, as it's only a question of when, not if, it becomes a major player.

Holding it back now is the extreme abundance of the resource, as new sources around the U.S. have been discovered recently, pushing down the price of the energy source, making it uneconomical at this time to produce in large quantities.

There are of course a number of other companies in the sector, but investors need to look closely and perform due diligence, as this could be one of the buys of the decade, and possibly century, as we may never see prices this low again for decades, once natural gas prices take off.

Newfield Exploration (NYSE:NFX) Results from Eagle Ford Drilling

Newfield Exploration (NYSE:NFX) released the results of their drilling of 11 wells in the Eagle Ford shale.

FBR noted, "Last night, NFX reported results from 11 wells drilled in the Eagle Ford shale. The wells had initial production (IP) between 400 Boe/day and 900 Boe/day, implying estimated ultimate recoveries (EURs) in the range of 200 Mboe–400 Mboe. Importantly, about 70% of the 300,000 net acres the company holds in the Eagle Ford is in the deeper, higher-pressured southern portion, which exhibited IPs and EURs in the 700 Boe/d–900 Boe/d range, implying a 400+ MBoe EUR potential and 45% pretax IRR at $80/bbl. Without assigning any value to Newfield's northern acreage, we estimate its southern Eagle Ford position to be worth $2.7 billion or about $21/share. We note that because of the shallower depths of the Maverick Basin there was some concern in the marketplace that the whole Eagle Ford position is sub-optimal."

FBR Capital maintains an "Outperform" rating on Newfield Exploration, which was trading at $71.96, down $0.09, or 0.12 percent, as of 11:19 AM EST. FBR has as price target of $85 on Newmont.

Investors await Newfield Exploration's (NYSE:NFX) Bakken, Eagle Ford Results

Interestingly, Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) downgraded Newfield Exploration (NYSE:NFX) even while acknowledging it could be risky before the results from Eagle Ford and Bakken come in.

Wells said, "In 2011, however, we expect shares to take a breather as the share price nears our NAV and investors look to pinpoint exposure to catalyst driven stories. Speaking of catalysts, we recognize the risks to the downgrade ahead of South Alberta Bakken and Eagle Ford results. In the South Alberta Bakken results are not expected until the Q2-Q3 2011 timeframe. In the Eagle Ford, results for the first 13 well batches are expected in Q1 2011, though we include $4.84 per share in our NAV for the Eagle Ford potential. Still a solid company and management team; however, we believe risk/reward favors other names in the current environment."

Wells Fargo downgraded Newfield Exploration from "Outperform" to "Market Perform." Newfield closed Friday at $70.82, down $0.24, or 0.34 percent. Wells has a range of $74 to $78 on the company.

EOG (NYSE:EOG), Newfield (NYSE:NFX) Terminate Marcellus Shale Agreement

EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) and Newfield Exploration (NYSE:NFX) announced they have terminated their agreement originally announced on November 15, 2010 concerning the Marcellus Shale.

Ticonderoga said, "Last night, EOG Resources and Newfield Exploration (Buy-rated), announced that the companies have mutually agreed to terminate their November 15, 2010, agreement regarding EOG's sale of certain Marcellus Shale acreage to NFX. No additional information was given in the release other than the decision falls under the terms provided for in the purchase and sale agreement. We will attempt to get additional information from both companies.

"At the time of the original announcement, we wrote that the deal could take some of the shine off the NFX story, as the transaction appeared to be a step back from the company’s strengths. NFX shares had been performing extremely well, partly because its gas assets were largely held by production, allowing the company to exert more capital discipline, keep spending within cash flow, and concentrate on developing a strong oil portfolio. Although we wouldn’t expect to see a large move in the shares, today’s reversal of the deal should be somewhat viewed as a shift back to those strengths and a net positive for NFX.

"Subsequently, this will likely be viewed as a net negative for EOG, as speculation about why the deal failed will probably center on the assets themselves (such as ownership, quality, or inaccurate data). More concrete is the fact that EOG had previously stated a goal to sell dry gas assets in order to supplement its cash flow needs and/or help repair its balance sheet, which had seen long-term debt jump 36% through the first 9 months of 2010. Today’s announcement adds to the uncertainty of EOG’s 2011 fiscal goals and capital plans."

Ticonderoga maintains a "Neutral" on EOG Resources, which was trading at $91.10, down $1.10, or 1.19 percent, as of 12:02 PM EST.

Newfield Exploration was trading at $73.18, up $0.18, or 0.25 percent.

Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD), Newfield Exploration (NYSE:NFX), Rosetta Resources (Nasdaq:ROSE), Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) Favored by FBR

FBR Capital sees the margin challenge facing the natural gas sector as either being solved by lower cost structures or higher prices. With their belief it'll be higher prices which will result from the challenge, they see companies like Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD), Newfield Exploration (NYSE:NFX), Rosetta Resources (Nasdaq:ROSE) and Range Resources (NYSE:RRC), who all have "platforms with strong technical expertise and premium acreage and leasehold positions," as strongly positioned to take advantage of it.

FBR said, "We believe that current operating margins are insufficient to incent the required level of shale gas investment needed to balance the market beyond 2011. As such, either cost structure needs to adjust materially lower or natural gas prices need to go higher for margins to become investable. As we do not see an abatement of service costs in the near future, we believe natural gas price increases will have to provide the margin improvement. Therefore, we are raising our 2H11 forward natural gas price forecast to $5.50/Mcf from $4.50/Mcf. On the crude oil front, we are in general agreement with the NYMEX futures price curve, the strength of which we believe reflects the lack of any new, material, long-term supply sources, rebounding demand, a tenuous outlook for the U.S. dollar, and geopolitical risk. Our investing focus, however, remains agnostic to the near-term direction of commodity prices and instead is oriented toward secular themes (NAV growth potential via investing in low-cost oil and gas shale growth, deepwater subsalt exploration, and international exploration; combined, we term this secular theme of reserve growth as the “real” energy super cycle). As such, we would remain buyers of platforms with strong technical expertise and premium acreage and leasehold positions. In this context, we heavily favor Pioneer Natural Resources Company (Outperform), Newfield Exploration Company (Outperform), Rosetta Resources Inc. (Outperform), and Range Resources Corporation (Outperform)."

Pioneer was trading at $85.34, up $0.28, or 0.33 percent, as of 12:45 PM EST. Newfield Exploration was trading at $71.12, up $0.11, or 0.15. Rosetta Resources was at $36.12, down 0.43, or 1.18 percent. Range Resources was trading at $43.19, up $0.48, or 1.12 percent.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Replaces Office Depot (NYSE:OD) on S&P 500

Several changes were made to the S&P 500 Thursday, with one of the more notable ones being the addition of Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), which will be replacing Office Depot (NYSE:OD) on the index.

Other changes made include the addition of Cablevision Systems Corp. (NYSE:CVC), which is replacing King Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NYSE:KG) because of being acquired by Pfizer (NYSE:PFE).

Also being dropped from the S&P is Eastman Kodak (NYSE:EK) and the New York Times (NYSE:NYT), who will be replaced by Newfield Exploration (NYSE:NFX) and F5 Networks (NASDAQ:FFIV).

Stocks removed from the S&P 500 will be lowered to the mid-cap 400 index.

Also noted in the S&P report was changes to the SmallCap 600, where Coldwater Creek Inc. (NASD:CWTR), Corinthian Colleges Inc. (NASD:COCO) and Wilmington Trust Corp. (NYSE:WL) will be replaced by East West Bancorp Inc. (NASD: EWBC), SM Energy Co. (NYSE:SM) and Concur Technologies Inc.

Those removed from the SmallCap 600 will be placed in the S&P MidCap 400.

Goldman (NYSE:GS) Changes Ratings on Plains (NYSE:PXP), Consol (NYSE:CNX), Apache (NYSE:APA), Newfield (NYSE:NFX)

After the outlook for oil turned more bullish today, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) responded by either making ratings changes to Plains Exploration (NYSE:PXP), Consol Energy (NYSE:CNX), Apache Corp. (NYSE:APA) and Newfield Exploration (NYSE:NFX).

Reasoning behind the changes, according to Goldman, was probable upside for oil prices, lower natural gas prices, and higher value for M&A potential within the Goldman model.

They added Apache Corp. to its "Conviction Buy" list, while removing Newfield Exploration. Apache was added because of their strong exposure to the Permian Basin.

Plains Exploration was upgraded from "Neutral" to "Buy," and added to the "Conviction Buy" list as well. Particularly noted was their exposure to Eagle Ford and Granite Wash. Possible assets sales in the Gulf of Mexico could also improve the valuation of the company.

Consol Energy was downgraded from "Buy" to "Sell," saying downside from "sustained low gas prices will outweigh potential upside from expected non-core met coal reserve sales...."

Plains was trading at $28.61, falling $0.05, or 0.17 percent at 2:31 PM EST. Goldman has a price target of $36 on them. Consol was at $43.97, gaining $2.01, or 4.79 percent. Goldman lowered their price target on them from $44 to $38. Apache soared to $111.13, rising by $3.49, or 3.24 percent. Newfield was up to $68.57, gaining $1.74, or 2.60 percent.

Newfield Exploration (NYSE:NFX) Production Growth at 10 Percent for Years

After meeting with Newfield Exploration's (NYSE:NFX) COO, FBR Capital said they're confident the company will be able to generate 10 percent production growth over the next 5 years and more.

"Last night, we hosted a dinner with Newfield's COO and clients in New York City. We walked away comfortable with the company’s ability to continue to execute and deliver predictable 10% or so production growth over the next five plus years. We note that if the Eagle Ford and Alberta Basin Bakken appraisal drilling ongoing are successful, growth rate could increase materially to 25% through 2015. We are of the opinion that at these levels, the stock price does not reflect material NAV revaluation potential imbedded within the company’s Eagle Ford and Southern Alberta Basin Bakken acreage positions," FBR said.

Newfield is trading at $65.93, gaining $1.71, or 2.66 percent. at 11:49 AM EST. FBR raised their price target on Newfield from $72 to $85.

Newfield Exploration (NYSE:NFX) Marcellus Acquisition Could Take Shine Off Story, Buying Opportunity

Newfield Exploration's (NYSE:NFX) acquisition of 50,000 acres from EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) could trigger selling of shares, according to Ticonderoga, taking some shine off of their overall story.

"NFX is acquiring 50,000 net acres in the Marcellus Shale from EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) (Neutral) for $405MM. The acreage is located in Bradford County, within the Northeastern section of the play and one of the developing core areas where there has been significant industry activity...The transaction could take some shine off the story, providing an attractive entry point...If so, we would be buying on the sell off as NFX’s strengths in this environment are still very apparent," said Ticonderoga.

Ticonderoga maintains a "Buy" on Newfield.

Newfield was trading at $63.67, falling $1.71, or 2.62 percent at 12:22 PM EST. Ticonderoga has a price target of $75 on the company.