Pembina Pipeline Corp. (NYSE:PBA) Short Interest Up 59.1% in August

Key Points

• Pembina Pipeline Corp. experienced a 59.1% increase in short interest for August, rising to 11,170,000 shares, reflecting a growing bearish sentiment among investors.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.71 per share, an increase from the previous dividend of $0.51, representing an annualized yield of 7.3%.
• Several analysts have downgraded Pembina's stock ratings, with Jefferies Financial Group moving from a "buy" to a "hold" rating, while Wells Fargo & Company categorized it as a "strong sell."

Pembina Pipeline Corp. (NYSE:PBA - Get Free Report) TSE: PPL saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 11,170,000 shares, an increase of 59.1% from the August 15th total of 7,020,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,320,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 8.5 days. Currently, 1.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Currently, 1.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,320,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 8.5 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Pembina Pipeline in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Pembina Pipeline in a report on Monday, August 11th. National Bankshares raised Pembina Pipeline from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Pembina Pipeline from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, National Bank Financial raised Pembina Pipeline from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Pembina Pipeline Price Performance

Pembina Pipeline stock traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $40.03. 975,783 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,379,008. The company has a market capitalization of $23.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.79 and a beta of 0.79. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $37.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.77. Pembina Pipeline has a 1 year low of $34.13 and a 1 year high of $43.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Pembina Pipeline Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.1%. This is a boost from Pembina Pipeline's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Pembina Pipeline's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 96.24%.

Institutional Trading of Pembina Pipeline

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Pembina Pipeline during the 2nd quarter valued at about $229,613,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Pembina Pipeline by 78.1% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 7,088,945 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $283,770,000 after acquiring an additional 3,108,920 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its stake in shares of Pembina Pipeline by 1,591.4% during the 4th quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 3,155,558 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $116,440,000 after acquiring an additional 2,968,994 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Pembina Pipeline by 47.4% during the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,547,536 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $283,823,000 after acquiring an additional 2,427,939 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Pembina Pipeline by 136.7% during the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,995,460 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $160,681,000 after acquiring an additional 2,307,634 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.37% of the company's stock.

About Pembina Pipeline

Pembina Pipeline Corporation provides energy transportation and midstream services. It operates through three segments: Pipelines, Facilities, and Marketing & New Ventures. The Pipelines segment operates conventional, oil sands and heavy oil, and transmission assets with a transportation capacity of 2.9 millions of barrels of oil equivalent per day, the ground storage capacity of 10 millions of barrels, and rail terminalling capacity of approximately 105 thousands of barrels of oil equivalent per day serving markets and basins across North America.