Short Interest in Excelerate Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EE) Rises By 8.7%

Excelerate Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EE) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 873,800 shares, a growth of 8.7% from the December 15th total of 803,900 shares. Currently, 3.7% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 248,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days.

Excelerate Energy Stock Performance

EE opened at $32.31 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.12, a current ratio of 4.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.64, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.42. Excelerate Energy has a 12-month low of $13.38 and a 12-month high of $32.47. The business has a 50 day moving average of $30.21 and a 200-day moving average of $24.05.

Excelerate Energy (NYSE:EE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $193.42 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $194.09 million. Excelerate Energy had a net margin of 3.14% and a return on equity of 1.39%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.40 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Excelerate Energy will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Excelerate Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th were issued a dividend of $0.06 per share. This is a boost from Excelerate Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. Excelerate Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.24%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Excelerate Energy in the third quarter valued at about $4,385,000. Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in Excelerate Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,915,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in shares of Excelerate Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,569,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Excelerate Energy by 28.2% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 338,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,241,000 after purchasing an additional 74,491 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Excelerate Energy by 40.6% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 180,204 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,966,000 after buying an additional 52,007 shares in the last quarter. 21.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on EE. Northland Securities increased their target price on shares of Excelerate Energy from $29.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective (up previously from $22.00) on shares of Excelerate Energy in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Stephens upped their target price on Excelerate Energy from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays raised their price target on Excelerate Energy from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Excelerate Energy from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.33.

About Excelerate Energy

Excelerate Energy, Inc provides flexible liquefied natural gas (LNG) solutions worldwide. The company offers regasification services, including floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs), infrastructure development, and LNG and natural gas supply, procurement, and distribution services; LNG terminal services; and natural gas supply to-power projects.