Wall Street Zen Downgrades Woodside Energy Group (NYSE:WDS) to Sell

Key Points

• Woodside Energy Group has been downgraded from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating by analysts at Wall Street Zen, while another firm, CLSA, upgraded it to a "strong-buy" rating.
• The stock has shown a recent decline, opening at $15.14 with a 12-month high of $18.42 and a low of $11.26.
• Institutional investors have significantly increased their stakes in the company, with notable boosts from firms like Jane Street Group and ABC Arbitrage SA during recent quarters.

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Woodside Energy Group (NYSE:WDS - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

Separately, CLSA upgraded shares of Woodside Energy Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

Woodside Energy Group Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE WDS traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $15.29. 69,371 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 882,214. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.13. The stock has a market cap of $29.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.60 and a beta of 0.69. Woodside Energy Group has a 1-year low of $11.26 and a 1-year high of $18.42.

Woodside Energy Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a dividend yield of 616.0%. This is a boost from Woodside Energy Group's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. Woodside Energy Group's payout ratio is currently 124.39%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WDS. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of Woodside Energy Group by 45.6% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 30,774 shares of the company's stock valued at $480,000 after buying an additional 9,634 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new position in shares of Woodside Energy Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $991,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Woodside Energy Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,388,000. Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Woodside Energy Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $165,000. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in Woodside Energy Group by 181.9% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 73,556 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,147,000 after acquiring an additional 47,465 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 3.17% of the company's stock.

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.