Increase in Short Interest for Energy Stocks Observed in February; ConocoPhillips Retains Position as Least Shorted

In February, there was a noticeable uptick in the shorting of energy stocks, according to recent data. Short interest, which is essentially investors betting that the stock prices will decline, grew slightly but noticeably across the board for energy stocks within the S&P 500 index. By the end of February, it had increased by 13 basis points up to 2.42% compared to the end of January.

Despite this rise in short interest, the energy sector represented by the S&P 500 Energy sector (NYSEARCA:XLE), exhibited a strong performance. The sector saw an increase of 9.2% compared to the overall S&P 500 index that went up by 7.3% from the beginning of the year.

Highs and Lows in Short Positions

When breaking down the data, APA Corp. (APA) stood out with the most significant level of short interest. About 19.5 million of its shares were sold short, which equates to around 6.5% of its available shares. Following behind were Occidental (OXY) with 5.9%, and EQT (EQT) at 3.32%. Valero (VLO) also made the list with a short interest of 3.18%.

On the flip side, ConocoPhillips (COP) emerged as the company with the least amount of shorted shares. Only about 1.14% of its floating shares were sold short. It was closely followed by EOG Resources (EOG) and SLB (SLB), which had short interests of 1.32% and 1.49%, respectively.

Two of the largest contributors to the energy index, Exxon Mobil (XOM) and Chevron (CVX), recorded short interests of 2.69% and 2.78%, respectively.

Industry-Wide Short Interest Analysis

The subgroup ‘Oil, Gas, and Consumable Fuels’ was at the top when it comes to short interest within the energy sector, reaching 2.50% at the end of February, marking an increase from the 2.39% noticed in mid-January.

In contrast, the ‘Energy Equipment and Services’ industry was on the lower end, with a short interest figure of 2% at the end of February. However, it is important to note that this subsector experienced the most significant rise, jumping from 1.70% in mid-January.

energy, stocks, short-interest