12:30 PM EDT, 05/03/2024 (MT Newswires) -- CFRA, an independent research provider, has provided MT Newswires with the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:

Our 12-month target of $7.50, up $0.50, reflects a 5.4x multiple of EV to projected 2024 EBITDA, slightly above SWN's historical average. We lower our 2024 EPS estimate by $0.02 to $0.57 and 2025's by $0.16 to $1.14. Q1 EPS of $0.12 vs. $0.31, missing the S&P Capital IQ consensus estimates by $0.02. Q1 revenue ($1.4 billion) fell 33% Y/Y, driven by weaker natural gas sales (-49%). Q1 production (~3.8 Bcfe) decreased by ~9% Y/Y, driven by weaker crude oil volumes (-13%) and natural gas liquids volumes (-12%). In April, SWN and Chesapeake Energy (CHK 86 NR) announced that they had pushed back the planned merger to 2H 2024 after receiving a second request for information from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), making it the fifth oil and gas merger/acquisition to receive a second request from the FTC, as lawmakers have increased scrutiny over multi-billion dollar deals within the energy sector. However, we don't believe the request should impact the planned merger from closing by year end.