Oil and Gas Short Sellers Remain Lukewarm, With One Exception

By Paul Ausick Published Aug 12, 8:03AM EDT

Follow 24/7 Wall St. on Google

This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.

Oil and Gas Short Sellers Remain Lukewarm, With One Exception — © grandriver / Getty Images

Crude oil traded around $42.20 a barrel early Wednesday, up by about $1.50 a barrel over the past two weeks. The price of crude has not strayed far from the $40 level since the beginning of July.

Of the companies we watch, short interest decreased on four of six energy stocks during the two-week reporting period ending July 31. Share prices decreased on all six stocks between the settlement dates.

Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX | CVX Price Prediction) saw short interest soar by 49% to 17.85 million shares, which represents about 1% of the company’s float. Days to cover remained at two. In the short interest period through July 31, the stock’s share price fell by about 5.6%. Its 52-week range is $51.60 to $125.27, and it closed at $89.62 on Tuesday, down by about 0.1% for the day.

Exxon Mobil Corp.’s (NYSE: XOM) short interest fell by 8% to 48.6 million shares, or about 1.2% of the company’s float. Days to cover remained at two. In the two weeks to July 31, the share price fell by about 5.7%. The stock’s 52-week range is $30.11 to $75.18, and it closed at $44.97 on Tuesday, up by about 1% for the day.

[nativounit]

BP PLC (NYSE: BP) saw a drop of 25% in short interest during the two weeks. About 0.7% of the total float, or 7.1 million American depositary shares (ADSs), were short, and days to cover remained at one. The company’s shares dropped by about 7.4% over the period, and they closed up by about 1.3% Tuesday, at $23.81 in a 52-week range of $15.51 to $40.08.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) short interest rose by 9% in the latter half of July. Some 10.5 million shares were short, representing about 1% of the company’s total float. Days to cover remained at two, and the stock price tumbled by about 9.3% during the period. Shares closed Tuesday at $39.71, up by about 0.2%, in a 52-week range of $20.84 to $67.13.

Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (NYSE: PBR), or Petrobras, short interest dropped by 8% during the two weeks. Some 35.3 million ADSs were short as of July 31, about 1.0% of the total float. They closed at $8.78 on Tuesday, in a 52-week range of $4.01 to $16.84. The stock slipped by about 2.7% in the short interest period, and days to cover remained at two.

Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: OXY) had short interest fall by 18% to 40.1 million shares. Days to cover remained at two, and about 4.4% of the company’s shares were short. In the two weeks to July 31, the share price fell by about 8.4%. Its 52-week range is $9.00 to $48.85, and shares closed Tuesday at $15.16, down by 8% for the day. The company on Tuesday canceled a proposed $4.9 billion sale of its Algerian oil and fields, setting back a plan to reduce Oxy’s massive debt load.

[recirclink id=728642][wallst_email_signup]

About the Author Paul Ausick →

Paul Ausick has been writing for a673b.bigscoots-temp.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.

He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.