What’s the Short Interest in Southwestern Energy Stock?

• As of July 14, 2017, Southwestern Energy’s (SWN) total shares shorted (or short interest) stood at ~49.5 million, whereas its average daily volume was ~18.4 million. This means the short interest ratio for SWN’s stock is ~2.69x. Here the average daily volume is calculated for the short interest reporting period from July 1, 2017, to July 14, 2017.

• Southwestern Energy’s short interest ratio has a 52-week high of 6.20x and a 52-week low of 2.53x.
• Southwestern Energy’s short interest as a percentage of its 20-day average volume, 90-day average volume, and 180-day average volume is 2.82x, 2.37x, and 2.81x, respectively.
• The current short interest in Southwestern Energy stock as a percentage of shares outstanding is ~9.8%.
• Short interest in Southwestern Energy’s stock as a percentage of shares outstanding is on the higher side when compared with many other upstream stocks from the SPDR S&P Oil and Gas Exploration & Production ETF (XOP).
• As seen in the above chart, short interest in Southwestern Energy stock as a percentage of shares outstanding has fallen from ~10.3% to ~9.8% in 2017 despite a ~44% decline in SWN’s stock price during the same period. To know more about SWN’s recent price performance, refer to part five of this series.

Other oil and gas exploration and production companies like California Resources (CRC), W&T Offshore (WTI), and ConocoPhillips (COP) have short interest as a percentage of shares outstanding of ~39.1%, ~6.0%, and ~2.6%, respectively. Just like Southwestern Energy, both California Resources (CRC) and W&T Offshore (WTI) saw an increase in their short interest in the last one month. The Direxion Daily Energy Bull 3X ETF (ERX) is a leveraged ETF that invests in domestic companies from the energy sector.