Woodside Energy Group Ltd (NYSE:WDS) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Woodside Energy Group Ltd (NYSE:WDS) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,370,000 shares, a growth of 48.1% from the August 31st total of 1,600,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 889,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Trexquant Investment LP bought a new stake in Woodside Energy Group during the fourth quarter worth about $982,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Woodside Energy Group by 36.7% in the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 24,187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $509,000 after buying an additional 6,495 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in shares of Woodside Energy Group in the fourth quarter valued at $3,237,000. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Woodside Energy Group by 26.1% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 7,737 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,000 after buying an additional 1,601 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in Woodside Energy Group by 21.2% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 220,231 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,645,000 after acquiring an additional 38,497 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 3.17% of the company’s stock.

Woodside Energy Group Price Performance

Woodside Energy Group stock traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $17.06. The stock had a trading volume of 531,395 shares, compared to its average volume of 933,604. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Woodside Energy Group has a 1-year low of $15.32 and a 1-year high of $23.64.

Woodside Energy Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This is an increase from Woodside Energy Group’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.60. This represents a dividend yield of 6.8%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WDS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup lowered shares of Woodside Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Morgan Stanley cut Woodside Energy Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Woodside Energy Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Woodside Energy Group to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Macquarie raised shares of Woodside Energy Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

About Woodside Energy Group

Woodside Energy Group Ltd engages in the exploration, evaluation, development, production, and marketing of hydrocarbons in the Asia Pacific, Africa, the Americas, and the Europe. The company produces liquefied natural gas, pipeline gas, crude oil and condensate, and natural gas liquids. It holds interests in the Pluto LNG, North West Shelf, Wheatstone and Julimar-Brunello, Bass Strait, Ngujima-Yin FPSO, Okha FPSO, Pyrenees FPSO, Macedon, Shenzi, Mad dog, Greater Angostura, as well as Scarborough, Sangomar, Trion, Calypso, Browse, Liard, Atlantis, Woodside Solar opportunity, and Sunrise and Troubadour.