Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of Energen Co. (NYSE:EGN) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, Analyst Ratings Network.com reports.

According to Zacks, “ENERGEN CORP is a diversified energy holding company engaged in natural gas distribution and oil and natural gas exploration and production activities. The Corporation’s utility subsidiary, Alabama Gas Corporation, is the largest natural gas distribution utility in the State of Alabama. The Corporation’s oil and gas exploration and production activities are conducted by its subsidiary, Taurus Exploration, Inc. and its subsidiary. “

Several hedge funds recently modified their holdings of EGN. Russell Frank Co increased its stake in shares of Energen by 45.4% in the fourth quarter. Russell Frank Co now owns 53,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,159,000 after buying an additional 16,664 shares in the last quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. increased its stake in shares of Energen by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 45,711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,874,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services increased its stake in shares of Energen by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services now owns 19,295 shares of the company’s stock valued at $791,000 after buying an additional 1,474 shares in the last quarter. Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its stake in shares of Energen by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 25,827 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,059,000 after buying an additional 4,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ID Management A bought a new stake in shares of Energen during the fourth quarter valued at about $451,000.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on EGN. KLR Group reduced their price objective on Energen from $81.00 to $66.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 19th. RBC Capital began coverage on Energen in a research note on Friday, October 30th. They issued a sector perform rating and a $63.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI cut Energen from a buy rating to a hold rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $65.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 5th. Nomura began coverage on Energen in a research note on Thursday, December 3rd. They issued a buy rating and a $74.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Susquehanna began coverage on Energen in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. They issued a neutral rating for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $62.33.

Shares of Energen (NYSE:EGN) traded up 3.02% on Tuesday, hitting $31.77. The stock had a trading volume of 931,287 shares. Energen has a 12 month low of $26.23 and a 12 month high of $77.12. The stock’s market cap is $2.50 billion. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $39.55 and a 200 day moving average of $51.39.

Energen (NYSE:EGN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $295.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $276.60 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.62 EPS. Energen’s revenue for the quarter was down 40.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Energen will post $0.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energen Corporation (NYSE:EGN) is an oil and gas exploration and production company with headquarters in Birmingham, Alabama. The Company has 1.1 billion barrels of oil-equivalent proved, probable, and possible reserves and another 2.2 billion barrels of oil-equivalent contingent resources. These all-domestic reserves and resources are located primarily in the Permian Basin in west Texas. Energen also has operations in the San Juan Basin in northern New Mexico.

12 Month Chart for NYSE:EGN

Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Energen (EGN)

For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com

Receive News & Ratings for Energen Co. Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Energen Co. and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.