HighPeak Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:HPK) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

HighPeak Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:HPK) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,530,000 shares, an increase of 5.5% from the October 15th total of 5,240,000 shares. Approximately 28.8% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 326,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 16.9 days.

HighPeak Energy Trading Up 4.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ HPK traded up $0.61 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $14.59. 194,660 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 327,516. The company’s 50-day moving average is $14.28 and its 200-day moving average is $14.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.01 and a beta of 0.69. HighPeak Energy has a 52-week low of $12.20 and a 52-week high of $17.48.

HighPeak Energy (NASDAQ:HPK) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.12. HighPeak Energy had a net margin of 15.94% and a return on equity of 14.83%. The company had revenue of $271.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $270.18 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. HighPeak Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that HighPeak Energy will post 0.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HighPeak Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. HighPeak Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Truist Financial upped their price objective on HighPeak Energy from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Jack Hightower bought 17,743 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $15.50 per share, for a total transaction of $275,016.50. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,805,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $74,482,925. This trade represents a 0.37 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 203,821 shares of company stock worth $3,154,206. 77.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of HighPeak Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new position in shares of HighPeak Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HighPeak Energy during the first quarter worth $44,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HighPeak Energy in the second quarter valued at $86,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in HighPeak Energy in the third quarter valued at $107,000. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in HighPeak Energy by 766.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,016 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 7,091 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 24.13% of the company’s stock.

HighPeak Energy Company Profile

HighPeak Energy, Inc, an independent oil and natural gas company, engages in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids reserves in the Permian Basin in West Texas and Eastern New Mexico. The company was incorporated in 2019 and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas.