Short Interest in Earthstone Energy, Inc. (NYSE:ESTE) Expands By 10.3%

Earthstone Energy, Inc. (NYSE:ESTE – Get Rating) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 9,920,000 shares, a growth of 10.3% from the February 13th total of 8,990,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,380,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.2 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ESTE shares. Mizuho started coverage on Earthstone Energy in a research report on Monday, January 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $19.00 price objective on the stock. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Earthstone Energy in a research report on Thursday, March 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.17.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Earthstone Energy

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Earthstone Energy by 43.0% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 89,777 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,134,000 after buying an additional 27,001 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Earthstone Energy by 74.5% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 218,768 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,763,000 after buying an additional 93,418 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Earthstone Energy during the first quarter valued at about $182,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. bought a new position in shares of Earthstone Energy during the first quarter valued at about $150,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Earthstone Energy by 332.1% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 53,131 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $669,000 after buying an additional 40,835 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.77% of the company’s stock.

Earthstone Energy Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE ESTE opened at $12.99 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $13.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.23. Earthstone Energy has a twelve month low of $10.65 and a twelve month high of $22.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 2.06.

Earthstone Energy (NYSE:ESTE – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 8th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.09. Earthstone Energy had a return on equity of 31.01% and a net margin of 26.69%. The business had revenue of $494.96 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $459.08 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 243.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Earthstone Energy will post 4.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Earthstone Energy Company Profile

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Earthstone Energy, Inc is a growth-oriented independent oil and gas company. The firm is engaged in the acquisition and development of oil and gas reserves through activities that include drilling and development of undeveloped leases, as well as asset and corporate acquisitions and mergers. It also focuses on the Midland Basin in West Texas, the Eagle Ford Trend in South Texas and the Delaware Basin in New Mexico.