Morgan Stanley Upgrades Encana (ECA) to “Overweight”

Encana (NYSE:ECA) (TSE:ECA) was upgraded by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $18.00 price target on the oil and gas company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $15.00. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 34.73% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on ECA. BMO Capital Markets set a $17.00 price objective on Encana and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Encana from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 12th. Desjardins upgraded Encana from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $16.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 12th. AltaCorp Capital lowered Encana from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $14.50 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Encana from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. The stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $15.17.

Shares of Encana (NYSE:ECA) traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $13.36. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,369,610 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,894,694. The company has a market cap of $13,117.58, a PE ratio of 16.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 2.15. Encana has a 12-month low of $8.01 and a 12-month high of $14.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.61.

Encana (NYSE:ECA) (TSE:ECA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 8th. The oil and gas company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.03). Encana had a return on equity of 5.95% and a net margin of 19.08%. sell-side analysts expect that Encana will post 0.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Commerce Bank acquired a new position in shares of Encana in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $118,000. Prospera Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of Encana in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $153,000. Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Encana in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $102,000. Gotham Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Encana during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $109,000. Finally, First Allied Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in Encana by 13.3% during the 2nd quarter. First Allied Advisory Services Inc. now owns 13,351 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $119,000 after acquiring an additional 1,567 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.68% of the company’s stock.

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About Encana

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.

Analyst Recommendations for Encana (NYSE:ECA)