Woodside Energy Group (NYSE:WDS) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Woodside Energy Group Ltd (NYSE:WDS) shares gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $16.56, but opened at $16.02. Woodside Energy Group shares last traded at $16.05, with a volume of 154,188 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WDS shares. Citigroup cut shares of Woodside Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Woodside Energy Group to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Woodside Energy Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Woodside Energy Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Woodside Energy Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Woodside Energy Group Stock Down 3.5 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $17.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.02.

Woodside Energy Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a $0.67 dividend. This is an increase from Woodside Energy Group’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.60. This represents a yield of 6.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Woodside Energy Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WDS. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in Woodside Energy Group by 25.4% in the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,826,619 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,359,000 after acquiring an additional 369,994 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Woodside Energy Group by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 869,713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,360,000 after buying an additional 6,267 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Woodside Energy Group by 10.6% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 505,380 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,506,000 after buying an additional 48,278 shares in the last quarter. Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA lifted its position in Woodside Energy Group by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA now owns 258,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,862,000 after buying an additional 1,031 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC boosted its stake in Woodside Energy Group by 4.3% in the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 226,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,266,000 after buying an additional 9,363 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 3.17% of the company’s stock.

Woodside Energy Group Company Profile

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.