The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday, July 14, edition that BMO Capital Markets analyst Mike Murphy has lowered his recommendation for Spartan Delta to "market perform" from "outperform." The Globe's Darcy Keith writes in the Eye On Equities column that Mr. Murphy lowered his share target by 75 cents to $5.50. Analysts on average target the shares at $9.37. BMO expects to see generally weaker quarter-over-quarter results for the Canadian oil and gas group due to challenges presented by wildfires, heavy oil sands turnaround activity and weaker natural gas prices. Mr. Murphy says in a note: "We view the company's recent asset sale and exploration spinout as maximizing value for predistribution shareholders. However, we view the cash flow outlook of the new Spartan Delta as significantly impacted by our revised outlook for natural gas prices through 2024. While we consider its asset base to be well positioned for free cash flow generation, pricing should limit this potential in the near/medium-term." The Globe says BMO is cautious on the oil and gas sector in general heading into second quarter results. The Globe reported on March 30 that Desjardins rated Spartan "buy" when it could be had for $14.17.