Raymond James upgraded NS Group (NSS

) to strong buy from market perform on valuation.

Analyst Marshall Adkins says since his downgrade on May 10, the company's stock has fallen about 20%. In particular, he thinks increases in domestic and international drilling activity will result in much higher utilization and pricing earnings for NSS over at least the next 18 months.

He sees a $0.80 2002 loss per share, and $1.00 2003 EPS. Based on a discounted cash flow analysis for the company, he's looking at histroic trading multiples of 10-15 times EPS for this group. He set a $12 price target, which is 12 times his 2003 EPS estimate.