Excelerate Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EE) Short Interest Update

Excelerate Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EE) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 1,417,543 shares, an increase of 52.4% from the February 26th total of 930,001 shares. Currently, 1.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 652,026 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Excelerate Energy Price Performance

Shares of EE stock opened at $33.51 on Monday. Excelerate Energy has a 1 year low of $21.28 and a 1 year high of $43.17. The company has a current ratio of 2.43, a quick ratio of 2.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $37.21 and its 200-day moving average is $30.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.39, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34.

Excelerate Energy (NYSE:EE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.01). Excelerate Energy had a net margin of 3.19% and a return on equity of 4.12%. The company had revenue of $317.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $293.49 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.40 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Excelerate Energy will post 1.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Excelerate Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 11th. Excelerate Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.24%.

Excelerate Energy announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $75.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on EE shares. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Excelerate Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $36.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, January 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $44.00 target price on shares of Excelerate Energy in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Excelerate Energy from $33.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Excelerate Energy from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Excelerate Energy from $30.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Excelerate Energy news, insider Oliver Simpson sold 6,000 shares of Excelerate Energy stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.15, for a total transaction of $204,900.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 51,719 shares in the company, valued at $1,766,203.85. The trade was a 10.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.83% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Arax Advisory Partners grew its position in shares of Excelerate Energy by 791.9% during the 4th quarter. Arax Advisory Partners now owns 883 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 784 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in Excelerate Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new position in Excelerate Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC bought a new position in Excelerate Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Excelerate Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. 21.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Excelerate Energy

Excelerate Energy (NYSE: EE) is a Houston‐based energy infrastructure company specializing in liquefied natural gas (LNG) solutions. The company develops, owns and operates floating regasification units (FSRUs) that convert shipped LNG into natural gas for delivery into existing pipeline networks. Excelerate Energy’s integrated platform also includes specialized LNG carriers, proprietary regasification technology and on‐shore support facilities, enabling rapid deployment of import terminals without extensive capital construction.

Founded in the early 2000s, Excelerate Energy pioneered the first FSRU in 2007, demonstrating the flexibility and cost advantages of floating LNG import infrastructure.