EnCana upgraded to "strong buy"

05/12/08 - Raymond James

NEW YORK, May 12 (newratings.com) - Analysts at Raymond James upgrade EnCana Corp (ECA) from "outperform" to "strong buy." The six-to-twelve month target price has been raised from $88 to $102.

In a research note published this morning, the analysts mention that the company has proposed a reorganisation into two publicly traded companies, a natural gas resource company (GasCo) and an integrated oil sands company (IOCo). The upward revision in the target price is based on the valuation of the two separate companies, the analysts say. GasCo would benefit from an improvement in production growth, while IOCo is likely to gain from an improved multiple closer to that of its peers, Raymond James adds.