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

Coterra Energy Inc. (NYSE:CTRA - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 25,830,000 shares, an increase of 27.6% from the April 30th total of 20,250,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 7,680,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days. Currently, 3.4% of the company's stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CTRA. Pickering Energy Partners cut shares of Coterra Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley set a $28.00 price target on shares of Coterra Energy in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Coterra Energy from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Barclays decreased their target price on Coterra Energy from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Coterra Energy from $36.00 to $33.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $33.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Kevin William Smith sold 25,733 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.09, for a total value of $748,572.97. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 106,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,086,856.26. This represents a 19.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael D. Deshazer sold 35,377 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.62, for a total value of $941,735.74. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 126,770 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,374,617.40. This represents a 21.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coterra Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in Coterra Energy by 175.6% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 871 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 555 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Coterra Energy by 463.5% during the 1st quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 896 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 737 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in Coterra Energy during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Coterra Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in Coterra Energy in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. 87.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Coterra Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CTRA traded down $0.56 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $24.88. 6,177,632 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,113,924. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $25.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.41. The company has a market cap of $18.99 billion, a PE ratio of 14.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.61. Coterra Energy has a 1-year low of $22.30 and a 1-year high of $29.95.

Coterra Energy (NYSE:CTRA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.09. Coterra Energy had a return on equity of 9.38% and a net margin of 21.91%. The firm had revenue of $924.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 32.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Coterra Energy will post 1.54 EPS for the current year.

Coterra Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. Coterra Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 51.16%.

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.