Yahoo Finance Sector Snap: Natural gas drillers rise
Natural gas driller shares rise as analyst says harsh winter weather will sustain demand
NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of companies that drill for natural gas rose Wednesday as an analyst said prices could keep rising and natural gas futures reached their highest prices in two and a half years.
Citi Investment Research analyst Anthony Yuen said U.S. prices for natural gas could keep rising because the harsh winter weather will lead to sustained strong demand, depleting inventories. He said prices could reach $5 per million BTUs, a threshold they did not break last winter.
In afternoon trading the biggest gainers were Southwestern Energy Co., which advanced $1.77, or 4.4 percent, to $42.09, and Range Resources Corp., which picked up $2.31, or 2.7 percent, to $87.24. Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. shares rose 80 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $39.89 and Chesapeake Energy Corp. shares ticked up 48 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $26.93.
Earlier in the day shares of Range Resources hit an all-time high of $88.24 and Cabot also reached an all-time high at $40.62. Southwestern shares set a two-year high of $42.06.
Elsewhere in the sector Devon Energy Corp. stock gained 66 cents to $60.34 while Clayton Williams Energy Inc. shares added $1.14 to $72.03 and shares of QEP Resources Inc. edged up 27 cents to $31.07.
