OREANDA-NEWS. September 10, 2013. Petrochina (NYSE:PTR) was upgraded by Zacks from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday, ARN reports. The firm currently has a USD134.00 price target on the stock. Zacks‘ price objective indicates a potential upside of 24.28% from the stock’s previous close.

Zacks‘ analyst wrote, “Following PetroChina’s good first half showing and the recent gas price hike, we are upgrading the Chinese state-run energy giant to Outperform from Neutral. The Beijing-headquartered company s latest results benefited from higher oil and gas equivalent output, and outstanding operating performance of the Natural Gas & Pipelines unit. We are also encouraged by the natural gas price reform that is expected to boost PetroChina’s margins. Going forward, the main growth driver for PetroChina will likely be its leverage to the fast-growing Chinese market and the ever expanding market/resource base. Being one of two Chinese integrated oil companies, PetroChina is well-positioned to capitalize on the country’s favorable trends. The integrated is also successfully expanding its footprint in strategic locations like Canada and Australia. “

Shares of Petrochina (NYSE:PTR) opened at 107.82 on Wednesday. Petrochina has a 1-year low of USD 99.28 and a 1-year high of USD 146.68. The stock’s 50-day moving average is USD 116.3 and its 200-day moving average is USD 122.8. The company has a market cap of USD 198.3 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.37.

PTR has been the subject of a number of other recent research reports. Analysts at Citigroup Inc. downgraded shares of Petrochina from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note to investors on Friday, August 23rd. Separately, analysts at Credit Suisse downgraded shares of Petrochina from an “outperform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note to investors on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Petrochina from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note to investors on Monday, July 8th.

Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of USD 134.00.

PetroChina Company Limited is an oil and gas producer and seller in the People’s Republic of China (NYSE:PTR).