Woodside Energy Group Ltd (NYSE:WDS) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Woodside Energy Group Ltd (NYSE:WDS) saw a significant drop in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,900,000 shares, a drop of 19.8% from the September 15th total of 2,370,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 886,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Woodside Energy Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WDS. Creative Planning increased its holdings in Woodside Energy Group by 75.2% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 92,243 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,735,000 after buying an additional 39,602 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Woodside Energy Group in the second quarter worth $3,283,000. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of Woodside Energy Group by 65.7% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 114,125 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,279,000 after purchasing an additional 45,258 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new position in Woodside Energy Group during the first quarter valued at $272,000. Finally, Bayesian Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Woodside Energy Group in the first quarter valued at $557,000. 3.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Woodside Energy Group Price Performance

WDS stock opened at $17.60 on Monday. Woodside Energy Group has a 52 week low of $15.32 and a 52 week high of $23.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $17.20 and a 200 day moving average of $18.19.

Woodside Energy Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. This is a positive change from Woodside Energy Group’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.60. This represents a dividend yield of 6.8%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on WDS shares. Macquarie raised shares of Woodside Energy Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Woodside Energy Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Woodside Energy Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Woodside Energy Group to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Citigroup cut Woodside Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus 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.