UPDATE: Imperial Capital Initiates Coverage On Southwestern Energy

In a note released Thursday morning, Imperial Capital analyst Bob Christensen initiated coverage of Southwestern Energy Company (NYSE: SWN) with an Outperform rating and a $50 price target.

Christensen began by stating his belief that Southwestern should be able to post "sustained" 15 percent per annual growth over the next few years, which he said is impressive seeing as Southwestern in the fourth-largest natural gas producer in the United States.

As drivers of this growth, Christensen cited "very" low cost of production, a U.S. gas demand surge over the next few years, and a recent property purchase worth $5.4 billion.

Christensen commented, "In our view, the U.S. shale gas supply revolution of the past decade fosters a strong U.S. shale gas demand evolution period of the coming decade. We believe the first big step up in U.S. demand from new industrial plants, power facilities, and export projects should arrive by 2016-2017."