The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday, Jan. 19, edition that Raymond James analyst Jeremy McCrea has lowered his recommendation for Birchcliff Energy to "sector perform" from "outperform." The Globe's Darcy Keith writes in the Eye On Equities column that Mr. McCrea issued his downgrade after the company updated its five-year plan and cut its dividend by 50 per cent. Mr. McCrea trimmed his share target by $2.50 to $9. With weaker natural gas prices, and the company being forced to add debt to pay for spending and the dividend, Mr. McCrea believes investor interest in Birchcliff is going to be limited. Mr. McCrea says in a note: "[Birchcliff] has continued to profitably invest in its core Montney position at Pouce Coupe. ... While Birchcliff benefited from its previous unhedged production strategy, the current natural gas outlook is not nearly as favorable, with the company adding debt to cover both the dividend and capex plans in 2023. Given the uncertainty in commodity prices today, the announcement of a 50-per-cent dividend cut shouldn't be surprising, however sentiment with the company taking additional prudent steps in scaling back spending (and growth) in their five-year outlook could weigh on the stock."