The Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) share price has faced headwinds over the last month.
Whereas the S&P/ASX 200 index (ASX: XJO) has climbed 1.9% since the start of August, Beach Energy shares are 12% in the red.
Let's find out why.
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What's up with the Beach Energy share price in August?
The Beach Energy share price started August exchanging hands at $1.24, which ended up being the high for the month.
Shares in the oil and gas explorer have since marched southwards, particularly after the company reported its FY21 earnings on 16 August.
In its report, Beach recognised a 36% drop in net profit after tax (NPAT) and a 4% decrease in oil production.
Management also gave softer than expected guidance of 21 million to 23 million barrels of oil equivalent in production for FY22.
Investors were quick to punish the company, wiping 10% in value from the Beach Energy share price and forcing it to close at $1.09 on the day of its earnings.
There was some reprieve in the days following, where a positive broker note from Citi on 18 August resulted in a 7% jump for Beach Energy shares.
Citi upgraded its rating to buy from neutral, with the posture that Beach will regain production strengths from FY23. However, it did trim its price target to $1.27, lower than Goldman Sachs' target of $1.40. Goldman Sachs holds a neutral rating on the company's shares.
The investment bank's upgrade was not enough to fuel a recovery though, as the Beach Energy share price has continued to stumble within a tight range over the last two-three weeks.
In fact, Beach shares have given away a further 4% over the last 5 trading sessions to the time of writing.
There has been no other market-sensitive information released by the company over this time period. Therefore, it stands to reason that investors continue selling Beach Energy shares on the back of its lacklustre FY21 performance and guidance.
Some might say, life's been a beach for the company over the month of August.
Beach Energy share price snapshot
The Beach Energy share price has had a difficult year to date, posting a loss of 42% since January 1. This extends the loss over the last 12 months to 31%.
These results have lagged the broad index's return of around 25% over the past year.
Beach Energy shares are currently exchanging hands at $1.05 apiece, a further 1.41% dip into the red from the open.
