Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Lowers Position in PDC Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCE)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans trimmed its stake in PDC Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCE – Get Rating) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 24,544 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 945 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in PDC Energy were worth $1,558,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PDCE. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in PDC Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in PDC Energy by 129.5% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 443 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in PDC Energy by 76.5% during the fourth quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 579 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in PDC Energy by 350.7% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 631 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 491 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in PDC Energy by 38.5% during the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 831 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 231 shares during the period. 96.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Mizuho reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $93.00 price objective on shares of PDC Energy in a research note on Tuesday, April 11th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of PDC Energy in a research note on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of PDC Energy from $65.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 21st. Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of PDC Energy in a research note on Friday, February 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of PDC Energy from $76.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PDC Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at PDC Energy

In other PDC Energy news, Director Lynn A. Peterson sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.00, for a total transaction of $434,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 233,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,456,354. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other PDC Energy news, CFO R Scott Meyers sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.70, for a total transaction of $174,250.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 162,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,319,977. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Lynn A. Peterson sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.00, for a total transaction of $434,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 233,167 shares in the company, valued at $14,456,354. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 26,700 shares of company stock worth $1,736,659 in the last ninety days. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

PDC Energy Price Performance

Shares of PDCE stock opened at $65.12 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.70 billion, a PE ratio of 2.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.13 and a beta of 2.51. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. PDC Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $51.72 and a twelve month high of $89.22.

PDC Energy (NASDAQ:PDCE – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 22nd. The energy producer reported $3.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.05 by $0.17. PDC Energy had a net margin of 49.57% and a return on equity of 35.66%. The firm had revenue of $879.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $892.11 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.86 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 41.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that PDC Energy, Inc. will post 13.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About PDC Energy

(Get Rating)

PDC Energy, Inc engages in the exploration and production of oil and natural gas. The firm acquires, explores, and develops properties for the production of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. Its primary operations are located in the Wattenberg Field in Colorado and the Delaware Basin in Texas.