Jefferies Raising Price Target On Nabors (NBR)

Jefferies & Co. is raising its price target on shares of Nabors Ind. NBR to $35 from $27 after it reported earnings. It has a Buy rating on shares. In a note to clients, Jefferies writes, "Despite implied 2011 EPS guidance of $1.55-$1.65, we are increasing our EPS to $1.80 from $1.66 as we believe higher U.S. land rig activity and margin/rig day and PP growth will drive earnings above guidance. We would note that our revised forecast assumes int'l EBIT roughly 10% below guidance as well as more conservative PP assumptions than mgmt laid out on the call. Also, we are rolling out our 2012 EPS of $2.52, which assumes modest increases from 4Q11 in U.S. land activity, roughly flat PP results and 40% growth in int'l op income." Shares of NBR are up 41 cents in pre-market trading to $27.15, a gain of 1.5%.