Continental Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CLR – Get Rating) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,770,000 shares, a drop of 7.4% from the September 30th total of 4,070,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,160,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days. Approximately 2.8% of the company’s shares are short sold.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Continental Resources
Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Continental Resources by 509.2% during the 2nd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,835,191 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $185,279,000 after purchasing an additional 2,369,759 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Continental Resources by 157.6% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,281,391 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $78,588,000 after purchasing an additional 784,017 shares during the last quarter. Laurion Capital Management LP bought a new position in Continental Resources during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,997,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in Continental Resources during the second quarter valued at approximately $41,255,000. Finally, Encompass Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Continental Resources during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,658,000. 13.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Continental Resources Stock Up 0.0 %
CLR traded up $0.01 on Monday, reaching $73.98. 566,774 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,052,241. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $70.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.59. Continental Resources has a 52-week low of $40.75 and a 52-week high of $75.49. The company has a market cap of $26.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.19, a PEG ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 2.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.93.
Continental Resources (NYSE:CLR – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 28th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.17 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. Continental Resources had a net margin of 37.73% and a return on equity of 40.32%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 114.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.91 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Continental Resources will post 11.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Continental Resources from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $67.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 19th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Continental Resources from $73.00 to $70.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 31st. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of Continental Resources from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 6th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Continental Resources from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 24th. Finally, Scotiabank downgraded shares of Continental Resources from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.20.
About Continental Resources
Continental Resources, Inc is an independent oil producer engaged in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas. The firm’s operations include horizontal drilling and protecting groundwater. The company was founded by Harold G. Hamm in 1967 and is headquartered in Oklahoma City, OK.