** Shares of National Fuel Gas NFG.N jump 5.9% to record high $89.05 early Tues after BofA Global Research upgrades to 'buy' from 'underperform'
** Brokerage boosts PT by $22 to Street-high $107, implying ~27% upside to stock's last close
** BofA says in note it estimates FY26 EPS of $9.12/sh helped by improving productivity from the natural gas utility firm's Utica Shale acreage in Tioga County, Pennsylvania
** Co's volume growth is "stellar" and its inventory duration is almost 2x that of peers, BofA says
** This combined with NFG's investment grade credit rating and midstream expertise, BofA believes co is the best positioned name to benefit from a long-term supply agreement and/or any new egress into New York from potential projects like Millennium or Constitution
** Now, 3 of 6 brokerages rate NFG "strong buy" or "buy", rest rate "hold" and median PT is $98, up from $85 a month ago, LSEG data reflects
** With move on Tues, NFG shares up ~46% YTD compared to ~19% gain in S&P 400 Gas Utilities sector .SPMDCGAUT
(Lance Tupper is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own)
((lance.tupper@tr.com ; 1-646-279-6380))
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