Encana Corporation (ECA) Given “Overweight” Rating at Barclays PLC

Encana Corporation (NYSE:ECA) (TSE:ECA)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at Barclays PLC in a report issued on Saturday, July 22nd. They currently have a $8.00 price objective on the oil and gas company’s stock. Barclays PLC’s price target would suggest a potential downside of 12.76% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also commented on the stock. Jefferies Group LLC set a $14.00 price target on shares of Encana Corporation and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 17th. Canaccord Genuity reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $14.00 target price on shares of Encana Corporation in a research report on Tuesday, April 11th. Raymond James Financial, Inc. started coverage on Encana Corporation in a research report on Wednesday, May 31st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $15.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Encana Corporation from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 3rd. Finally, TD Securities set a $12.50 price target on shares of Encana Corporation and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.32.

Shares of Encana Corporation (NYSE:ECA) traded up 1.21% during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $9.17. The company had a trading volume of 10,295,786 shares. Encana Corporation has a one year low of $8.01 and a one year high of $13.85. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $9.48 and a 200-day moving average of $10.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.93 and a beta of 2.04.

Encana Corporation (NYSE:ECA) (TSE:ECA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 21st. The oil and gas company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $773.19 million. Encana Corporation had a net margin of 19.09% and a return on equity of 6.25%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.10 EPS. Analysts forecast that Encana Corporation will post $0.50 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Steadfast Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Encana Corporation by 12.2% in the first quarter. Steadfast Capital Management LP now owns 19,974,573 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $233,902,000 after buying an additional 2,164,300 shares in the last quarter. Eqis Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Encana Corporation by 44.7% in the first quarter. Eqis Capital Management Inc. now owns 37,687 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $441,000 after buying an additional 11,642 shares in the last quarter. World Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Encana Corporation by 4.0% in the first quarter. World Asset Management Inc now owns 58,661 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $687,000 after buying an additional 2,250 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Encana Corporation by 84.8% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 321,320 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,763,000 after buying an additional 147,409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management AG purchased a new stake in Encana Corporation during the fourth quarter valued at about $370,000. 73.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Encana Corporation Company Profile

Encana Corporation is an energy producer that is focused on developing its multi-basin portfolio of natural gas, oil and natural gas liquids (NGLs) producing plays. The Company’s operations also include the marketing of natural gas, oil and NGLs. All of its reserves and production are located in North America.