Linn Energy profit misses Street on falling natgas liquid prices

* Q2 EPS $0.31 vs est$0.43

* Q2 production up 76 pct

July 26 (Reuters) - Oil and gas company Linn Energy reported a lower-than-expected quarterly profit on weak natural gas liquids (NGL)prices.

Linn said weak NGL prices would hurt its 2012 earnings, but recent acquisitions and a shift to oil drilling are expected to mitigate the weak prices.

Linn spent $1.4 billion on acquisitions in the second quarter. The company bought natural gas acreage in southwest Wyoming from BP America Production Co for $1.03 billion.

Quarterly production rose 76 percent to 630 million cubic feet per day. (mmcfe/d)

The company earned $237 million, or $1.19 per share, lower than $237.1 million, or $1.34 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, the company earned 31 cents per share.

Analysts had expected earnings of 42 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Linn units closed at $39.50 on Wednesday on the Nasdaq.