Woodside Energy Group Ltd (NYSE:WDS) Short Interest Down 19.8% in September

Woodside Energy Group Ltd (NYSE:WDS) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of 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 trading volume, of 886,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Macquarie raised Woodside Energy Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 23rd. Citigroup downgraded shares of Woodside Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Woodside Energy Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Woodside Energy Group to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Woodside Energy Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Woodside Energy Group

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Woodside Energy Group by 25.4% in the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,826,619 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,359,000 after purchasing an additional 369,994 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Woodside Energy Group by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 869,713 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,360,000 after acquiring an additional 6,267 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Woodside Energy Group by 10.6% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 505,380 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,506,000 after acquiring an additional 48,278 shares in the last quarter. Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA raised its holdings in shares of Woodside Energy Group by 0.4% in the second quarter. Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA now owns 258,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,862,000 after purchasing an additional 1,031 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Woodside Energy Group by 4.3% during the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 226,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,266,000 after purchasing an additional 9,363 shares in the last quarter. 3.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Woodside Energy Group Stock Down 4.5 %

Shares of NYSE WDS traded down $0.77 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $16.38. 1,245,106 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 931,221. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.24. The business’s fifty day moving average is $17.21 and its 200 day moving average is $18.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.80 and a beta of 1.11. Woodside Energy Group has a fifty-two week low of $15.32 and a fifty-two week high of $23.45.

Woodside Energy Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a $0.67 dividend. This represents a yield of 6.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. This is a boost from Woodside Energy Group’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.60. Woodside Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 119.64%.

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.