- BofA Merrill analyst Doug Leggate stays cautious on the refining sector for 2015, although he sees a bullish opportunity in Phillips 66 (PSX +0.5%), which he upgrades to Buy from Neutral with a $90 price target.
- The expected recognition of value risks being materially overhyped compared to what is currently being recognized by MLPs, the analyst says, adding that absence of guidance on the cost impact on the remaining business, limited guidance on tax and lack of precision on disclosure prompts skepticism that the market is not getting ahead of itself.
- Leggate downgrades HollyFrontier (HFC -1.5%) to Neutral from Buy, and PBF Energy (PBF -1.9%) and Delek US (DK -1.9%) to Underperform from Neutral; he also lowers stock price targets for the three, as well as for Valero (VLO +0.4%), Northern Tier (NTI -2.5%) and Marathon Petroleum (MPC -1.1%).