Coterra Energy Inc. (NYSE:CTRA) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Coterra Energy Inc. (NYSE:CTRA) saw a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 20,540,000 shares, an increase of 18.4% from the December 15th total of 17,350,000 shares. Currently, 2.8% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 5,900,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on CTRA shares. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Coterra Energy from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Coterra Energy from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Coterra Energy from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Coterra Energy from $35.00 to $33.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Coterra Energy from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.76.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Kevin William Smith sold 29,643 shares of Coterra Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.16, for a total value of $775,460.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 77,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,016,282. The trade was a 27.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Adam M. Vela sold 16,435 shares of Coterra Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.76, for a total transaction of $439,800.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 72,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,937,664.84. This trade represents a 18.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. City State Bank purchased a new position in Coterra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its position in Coterra Energy by 192.2% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 1,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 744 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC grew its position in Coterra Energy by 230.5% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 869 shares in the last quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Coterra Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Finally, Tobam purchased a new position in Coterra Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $63,000. 87.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coterra Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CTRA traded down $0.32 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $29.51. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 9,047,906 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,264,813. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $26.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.00. The company has a market cap of $21.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Coterra Energy has a one year low of $22.30 and a one year high of $29.95.

Coterra Energy (NYSE:CTRA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.28 billion. Coterra Energy had a return on equity of 9.38% and a net margin of 21.91%. The business’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.47 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Coterra Energy will post 1.54 EPS for the current year.

Coterra Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. Coterra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.60%.

About Coterra Energy

Coterra Energy Inc, an independent oil and gas company, engages in the development, exploration, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the United States. The company’s properties include the Marcellus Shale with approximately 186,000 net acres in the dry gas window of the play located in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania; Permian Basin properties with approximately 296,000 net acres located in west Texas and southeast New Mexico; and Anadarko Basin properties with approximately 182,000 net acres located in Oklahoma.