Pedevco Corp. (NYSEAMERICAN:PED) Stock Short Interest Falls 39.7%

Pedevco Corp. (NYSEAMERICAN:PED) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 61,588 shares, a decrease of 39.7% from the September 15th total of 102,152 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 33,488 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Pedevco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pedevco presently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Pedevco Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSEAMERICAN:PED traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $13.69. The stock had a trading volume of 35,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 26,254. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $13.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.60. Pedevco has a 12 month low of $8.64 and a 12 month high of $18.89. The company has a market cap of $181.94 million, a P/E ratio of 456.49 and a beta of 0.41.

Pedevco (NYSEAMERICAN:PED) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.95. Pedevco had a positive return on equity of 0.67% and a negative net margin of 14.61%. The business had revenue of $46.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.00 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Pedevco will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pedevco

In related news, major shareholder Simon G. Kukes acquired 147,070 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $13.00 per share, for a total transaction of $1,911,910.00. Following the purchase, the insider owned 4,137,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,788,059. This trade represents a 3.69% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Moore Clark sold 5,277 shares of Pedevco stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.53, for a total value of $66,120.81. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 45,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $568,674.05. The trade was a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,260 shares of company stock worth $129,417. 54.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pedevco

An institutional investor recently bought a new position in Pedevco stock. Juniper Capital Advisors L.P. bought a new position in Pedevco Corp. (NYSEAMERICAN:PED) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 196,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $110,000. Pedevco comprises 0.0% of Juniper Capital Advisors L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Juniper Capital Advisors L.P. owned about 0.21% of Pedevco at the end of the most recent quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 3.26% of the company’s stock.

Pedevco Company Profile

PEDEVCO Corp. (NYSE American: PED) is an independent energy company engaged in the acquisition, development and production of oil and natural gas properties in the United States. The company focuses on building a portfolio of domestic energy assets and generating production through the development of existing properties.

PEDEVCO’s activities have included oil and natural gas operations in major U.S. producing regions, including the Permian Basin and the Denver-Julesburg Basin. Its operations generally involve acquiring mineral and leasehold interests, drilling and completing wells, and managing production and related field activities.

The company was formerly known as Pacific Energy Development Corporation before adopting the PEDEVCO name.