Pembina Pipeline Co. (NYSE:PBA) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Pembina Pipeline Co. (NYSE:PBA) (TSE:PPL) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 22,840,000 shares, an increase of 86.9% from the February 28th total of 12,220,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,550,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 14.7 days. Approximately 3.9% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Pembina Pipeline Stock Performance

NYSE:PBA traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $39.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 649,829 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,274,364. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.51. Pembina Pipeline has a fifty-two week low of $33.83 and a fifty-two week high of $43.44. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $37.59 and its 200-day moving average is $39.29. The firm has a market cap of $23.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.49 and a beta of 1.26.

Pembina Pipeline Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.4783 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.91 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.79%. Pembina Pipeline’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.76%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Pembina Pipeline by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,507,356 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $62,201,000 after buying an additional 121,005 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Pembina Pipeline by 60.1% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 32,186 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,327,000 after acquiring an additional 12,081 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Pembina Pipeline by 4.1% in the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,947 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Pembina Pipeline by 67.6% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,341 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 541 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Pembina Pipeline by 1,396.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 547,448 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $22,573,000 after purchasing an additional 510,873 shares during the period. 55.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PBA. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Pembina Pipeline from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Pembina Pipeline in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of Pembina Pipeline from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, TD Securities assumed coverage on Pembina Pipeline in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.50.

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.