Excelerate Energy (NYSE:EE) Cut to Hold at Dnb Carnegie

Dnb Carnegie downgraded shares of Excelerate Energy (NYSE:EE) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on EE. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 price target on shares of Excelerate Energy in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Northland Securities set a $50.00 price objective on Excelerate Energy in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley set a $30.00 price target on Excelerate Energy and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Excelerate Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Excelerate Energy from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.50.

Excelerate Energy Stock Up 0.4%

EE stock opened at $42.10 on Thursday. Excelerate Energy has a 12 month low of $21.28 and a 12 month high of $43.03. The firm has a market cap of $4.80 billion, a PE ratio of 29.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 2.39. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.42.

Excelerate Energy declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $75.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Excelerate Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. Excelerate Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.22%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Excelerate Energy

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EE. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Excelerate Energy by 24.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,607,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,181,000 after purchasing an additional 719,148 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Excelerate Energy by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,405,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,464,000 after acquiring an additional 11,731 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Excelerate Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $30,658,000. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Excelerate Energy by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 949,723 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,640,000 after buying an additional 25,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Excelerate Energy by 77.3% during the third quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 781,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,689,000 after purchasing an additional 340,747 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 21.79% of the company’s stock.

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.