Southwestern Energy shares up after 3Q results

NEW YORK - Shares of Southwestern Energy Co. rose Friday after the natural gas producer said its third-quarter profit soared as production jumped.

The stock jumped $1.52, or 4.5 percent, to $35.59 in midday trading. In the past 52 weeks, shares have traded between $19.05 and $52.69.

For the period ended Sept. 30, the company posted net income of $218.2 million, or 63 cents per share, compared with net income of $51 million, or 15 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

Revenue jumped more than doubled to $683 million from $297.6 million.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected, on average, earnings of 41 cents per share on revenue of $568 million.

Southwestern said its production rose 76 percent to 52.8 billion cubic feet equivalent over the year-ago period.

Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co. analyst Amir Arif said the results show "another solid quarter" and said 2009 and 2010 will likely be strong periods of growth for the company.

He kept an "Outperform" rating, citing "meaningful potential upside remaining from these various avenues and a strong balance sheet to execute on this growth."

Arif also kept a $40 price target, implying he expects the stock to jump 17 percent over Thursday's $34.07 close.

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