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 was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 11,170,000 shares, a growth of 59.1% from the August 15th total of 7,020,000 shares. Currently, 1.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,320,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 8.5 days. Based on an average trading volume of 1,320,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 8.5 days. Currently, 1.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on PBA shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Pembina Pipeline from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Pembina Pipeline in a report on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Pembina Pipeline from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. National Bankshares raised shares of Pembina Pipeline from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Pembina Pipeline in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Pembina Pipeline Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE PBA traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $39.83. 803,193 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,470,718. Pembina Pipeline has a 12-month low of $34.13 and a 12-month high of $43.44. The firm has a market cap of $23.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.56 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $37.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.75. 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 firm also recently declared 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. This is an increase from Pembina Pipeline's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.1%. Pembina Pipeline's dividend payout ratio is 96.24%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pembina Pipeline

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Pembina Pipeline in the second quarter worth about $58,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Pembina Pipeline by 14.1% during the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,629,929 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $61,139,000 after buying an additional 201,096 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pembina Pipeline during the second quarter valued at approximately $104,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its holdings in shares of Pembina Pipeline by 1.3% during the second quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 693,031 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $26,027,000 after buying an additional 8,829 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new stake in shares of Pembina Pipeline during the second quarter valued at approximately $52,514,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.37% of the company's stock.

Pembina Pipeline Company Profile

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.