oil broker – Broker Roundup Pt 2 including BowLeven, Imperial Tobacco, N Brown, Afren, Range Resources and African Eagle Resources

Oil and gas firm BowLeven (LON:BLVN) is the subject of a note from Goldman Sachs today, which rates the stock a ‘buy’ targeting a price of 253 pence (current price: 83 pence).Christophor Jost said the firm’s discoveries offshore Cameroon offered significant upside if they are commercialised following a capital markets day on Tuesday.He believes that a de-risking of the assets through appraisal, funding and a gas solution had significant re-rating potential for the shares.Elsewhere, the City heavyweight reiterated its ‘conviction buy’ on  Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (LON:MLC) and gives the stock a 12 month target price of 580 pence – representing a 35 per cent upside potential.”Recent trading in markets that represent roughly two thirds of group owned/long leased rooms remains strong, and in our view the current valuation is consistent with trough-like returns rather than the mid-cycle returns currently being earned,” said analyst Oliver Neal.The analyst added that he continued to expect the stock to re-rate.Wall Street bank Citigroup has reiterated its ‘buy’ stance on Imperial Tobacco Group (LON:IMT) and says that the stock has risen every December for the last decade.However, it noted, that it usually falls in January as investors start the year with a pro-cyclical tilt, before rising in the following months.Analyst Adam Spielman said that this year, the trend had been particularly marked, and he believes this represented a good opportunity to buy into the company now at around 11 times 2012 price/earnings and where earnings growth is both decent and very secure.Imperial is to release its first quarter 2012 trading statement on February 1. Citi has also upped its price target to £25.70 from £25.50 previously.In mining, UBS has an unchanged ‘buy’ rating on Kazakhmys (LON:KAZ), saying that overall production for the fourth quarter had been “in line” with the bank’s estimates.The Swiss bank has a 1380 pence price target on the stock based on a net present value using a 12 per cent discount rate for operating assets and said it was attracted by the firm’s valuation and it continued to see potential for divestment of its 26 per cent ENRC stake over the next one to two years.Deutsche Bank rates the stock a ‘buy’ targeting a price of 1760 pence, saying it expected Kaz to end 2011 in a net cash position and with the current copper price would be building on this.For Anglo American (LON:AAL), UBS analyst Myles Allsop also said its Q4 production was broadly in line with consensus and has an unchanged ‘buy’ stance on the shares with a 12 month price target of £34 for the shares.UBS is attracted to the group’s growth pipeline and expects the De Beers deal to be accretive, albeit diamond prices are under pressure. “We see macro developments and news on Codelco dispute as the key catalysts near-term,” said Allsop.Anglo American agreed to acquire an incremental 40 per cent interest in De Beers in November. The transaction is expected to close this second half.Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank said Anglo’s fourth quarter production saw iron ore, met coal and Nickel above DB’s expectations, while platinum, thermal coal and diamonds were below. It rates the stock a ‘buy’.Elsewhere, online shopping company N Brown (LON:BWNG) has significant exposure to an expanding niche, says UBS, which upgrades the stock to ‘buy’ from ‘neutral’ today.”With almost 50 per cent of sales now generated on the internet, significant exposure to a niche, but rapidly growing, oversize clothing market, international growth opportunities and trial UK rollout, N Brown should continue to outperform its retail peers,” said analyst Adam Cochrane in a note.UBS has a target price of 280 pence for the stock (current price: 237.8 pence.”Competition is limited in oversized clothing given relatively low volumes and N Brown is set to increase its market share. Internet penetration will reduce retail store numbers and N Brown has the benefit of no loss making stores or potential exit costs,” it added.FTSE 250 firm Afren (LON:AFR) was the subject of a note by Liberum Capital today, which said the firm’s planned busy exploration programme offered further upside to the share price, which has surged 51 percent in the year to date.The broker comment followed Monday’s production report from the oil group and the Okoro East discovery in Nigeria announced earlier this month.”The share price has moved rapidly to recognise Afren’s progress but with further upside potential we retain our ‘buy’ recommendation,” noted the broker.Range Resources (LON:RRL, ASX:RRS) reported a successful production test of a well on the Morne Diablo concession in onshore Trinidad today as it continues to ramp up production there and prepares for exploring deeper targets on the acreage.Initial production testing of the QUN118ST well at Morne Diablo has seen production at a rate of up to 102 barrels of oil per day under natural pressure from the shallow Forrest formation. It has stabilized at approximately 84 bopd, the firm said in an update.Old Park Lane Capital analyst Barney Gray commented on the statement, saying Range’s completed wells on Morne Diablo were delivering production in excess of expectations.Elsewhere, African Eagle Resources’ (LON:AFE) announced the appointment of two new directors today as it ended a busy week of activity as it moves its Dutwa Nickel project nearer to bankable status.Don Newport and Dr Christopher R. Pointon are joining the company as it develops its flagship Dutwa Nickel project in Tanzania, it said.The appointment of finance expert Don Newport and resource specialist Dr Christopher R. Pointon as non-executives was welcomed by Ocean Equities analyst Christopher Welch, who said it demonstrated the potential quality of the firm’s flagship project.”The attraction of such high calibre individuals to African Eagle supports our view that Dutwa is one of the best Nickel projects in the current development pipeline,” he said in  a note about today’s news.