First Albany Corp. Call Southwestern Energy Corp. a ?Buy?

First Albany Corp. of Albany, N.Y., on April 2 initiated coverage of Southwestern Energy Corp. with a “buy” rating.

Southwestern, which kept subsidiary Arkansas Western Gas in Fayetteville last year after moving its corporate headquarters to Houston, recorded net income of $35.3 million, or $1.38 per share, for 2001 — a 72 percent increase from $20.5 million, or 82 cents per share, for 2000.

Company reports attribute its greater profitability to growth in production volumes and higher gas prices.

Analyst Robert L. Christensen Jr., a managing director with First Albany, will administer Southwestern’s coverage. He put a 12-month target price of $16 on the stock, which as of early April had risen to the $13-$13.50 range.

“Southwestern is one of the lowest-cost [exploration and production] operators … which should keep it extremely profitable even in a low natural gas price environment,” Christensen said.

A veteran energy sector analyst, Christensen spent two years in Dubai and the United Arab Emirates as a manager for Great Lakes International and is a former executive with Texaco. He has twice been named a Wall Street Journal “All-Star” for stock picking and is a regular guest on CNBC.