The Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) share price is on the mends despite oil prices falling on Friday night.
At the time of writing, the oil and gas company's shares are swapping hands for $22.05, up 0.23%. In comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is 0.1% higher to 7,544 points
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What's going on with Woodside shares?
Investors are buying Woodside shares with no new news out of the company today. Its most recent update came last Wednesday in regards to an increased capital cost estimate on the Scarborough Project.
According to Bloomberg, the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) dropped 1.95% to US$66.95 per barrel. In addition, its more expensive brother, Brent crude also sunk 1.84% to $69.40.
WTI is sourced from oil fields in the United States and is lighter due to its low density and low sulphur content. Brent crude on the other hand is sourced from the North Sea between the Shetland Islands and Norway and is popular to refine into diesel fuel and gasoline.
Nonetheless, the drop in oil prices will undoubtedly weigh on Woodside's profits. This is especially given the fact that WTI and Brent crude reached the $75 mark in July this year.
However, investors appear to be bargain hunting as the company's shares are trading near year-to-date lows around the $21.70 mark.
After reporting its Q2 trading update in mid-July, a number of brokers changed their rating on the company share price.
Swiss investment firm, UBS cut its price target for Woodside shares by 0.4% to $26.10. Morgans followed suit to also reduce their rating by 3% to $29. The most recent broker note came from Goldman Sachs, which has initiated a bullish price of $34 for the energy producer's shares.
Based on the current Woodside share price, Goldman Sachs' 12-month price target implies an upside of roughly 35%.
Woodside share price snapshot
Over the last 12 months, Woodside shares have failed to make any significant movements, up 8%. Year-to-date, however, the company's shares are down about 3%.
Woodside commands a market capitalisation of roughly $21.2 billion, with 963 million shares on its registry.
