Pembina Pipeline Co. (NYSE:PBA) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Pembina Pipeline Co. (NYSE:PBA - Get Free Report) TSE: PPL was the target of a large decrease in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,810,000 shares, a decrease of 61.4% from the March 15th total of 22,840,000 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,500,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.9 days.

Pembina Pipeline Price Performance

Pembina Pipeline stock traded up $0.57 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $37.96. 1,004,607 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,274,948. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Pembina Pipeline has a 12 month low of $34.13 and a 12 month high of $43.44. The stock's fifty day moving average is $37.82 and its 200-day moving average is $38.93. The stock has a market cap of $22.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.69 and a beta of 0.89.

Pembina Pipeline Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.4783 dividend. This represents a $1.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Pembina Pipeline's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PBA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised Pembina Pipeline from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. TD Securities began coverage on shares of Pembina Pipeline in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pembina Pipeline currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $56.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pembina Pipeline

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Pembina Pipeline during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $171,860,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Pembina Pipeline by 1,591.4% in the 4th quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 3,155,558 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $116,440,000 after buying an additional 2,968,994 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in Pembina Pipeline during the 4th quarter valued at about $73,073,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Pembina Pipeline by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 13,930,847 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $514,154,000 after purchasing an additional 1,331,294 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Pembina Pipeline by 338.7% in the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,289,706 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $47,598,000 after purchasing an additional 995,735 shares during the period. 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.