Pembina Pipeline Co. (NYSE:PBA) Short Interest Update

Pembina Pipeline Co. (NYSE:PBA - Get Free Report) TSE: PPL was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,050,000 shares, a decrease of 73.1% from the December 31st total of 15,040,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,150,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.5 days. Currently, 0.7% of the company's stock are sold short.

Institutional Trading of Pembina Pipeline

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PBA. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Pembina Pipeline by 880.0% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 980 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Pembina Pipeline by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 377,260 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $13,940,000 after purchasing an additional 27,866 shares during the period. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pembina Pipeline in the fourth quarter worth about $310,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Pembina Pipeline by 84.5% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,175 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 1,454 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Pembina Pipeline by 2,597.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 917 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 883 shares in the last quarter. 55.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Pembina Pipeline Stock Performance

Shares of Pembina Pipeline stock traded down $0.79 on Friday, reaching $36.09. 2,506,907 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,087,570. The company has a 50 day moving average of $37.79 and a 200 day moving average of $39.61. 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 52 week low of $32.81 and a 52 week high of $43.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.95 billion, a PE ratio of 14.91 and a beta of 1.25.

Pembina Pipeline Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.65%. This is a positive change from Pembina Pipeline's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Pembina Pipeline's dividend payout ratio is 80.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut Pembina Pipeline from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. TD Securities assumed coverage on shares of Pembina Pipeline in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Barclays started coverage on shares of Pembina Pipeline in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating for the company. Finally, Raymond James began coverage on shares of Pembina Pipeline in a research report on Friday, October 11th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Pembina Pipeline presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.