ChampionX Co. (NASDAQ:CHX) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

ChampionX Co. (NASDAQ:CHX) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,160,000 shares, a growth of 12.2% from the August 31st total of 6,380,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,610,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.4 days. Currently, 3.8% of the shares of the company are short sold.

ChampionX Price Performance

CHX stock traded up $0.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $30.30. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,362,201 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,865,867. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company’s 50 day moving average is $31.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.95. ChampionX has a fifty-two week low of $25.46 and a fifty-two week high of $39.95. The stock has a market cap of $5.77 billion, a PE ratio of 16.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 2.37.

ChampionX (NASDAQ:CHX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $893.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $954.91 million. ChampionX had a return on equity of 19.72% and a net margin of 8.66%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.48 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that ChampionX will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

ChampionX Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a $0.095 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $0.38 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. ChampionX’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.65%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ChampionX

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in ChampionX during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of ChampionX in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in shares of ChampionX in the second quarter valued at approximately $68,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of ChampionX in the first quarter worth $134,000. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in ChampionX during the 1st quarter worth $136,000. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of ChampionX from $40.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.00.

ChampionX Company Profile

ChampionX Corporation provides chemistry solutions, artificial lift systems, and engineered equipment and technologies to oil and gas companies worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Production Chemical Technologies, Production & Automation Technologies, Drilling Technologies, and Reservoir Chemical Technologies.