Excelerate Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EE) Short Interest Down 14.3% in February

Excelerate Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EE) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 805,066 shares, a drop of 14.3% from the January 29th total of 939,408 shares. Approximately 0.7% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 338,668 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days. Based on an average daily volume of 338,668 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days. Approximately 0.7% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Excelerate Energy

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EE. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Excelerate Energy by 24.9% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 11,731 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Excelerate Energy in the fourth quarter worth $30,658,000. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Excelerate Energy by 2.8% during the fourth 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 boosted its stake in Excelerate Energy by 77.3% during the third quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 781,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,689,000 after buying an additional 340,747 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 21.79% of the company’s stock.

Excelerate Energy Trading Down 6.5%

Shares of EE stock opened at $35.98 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.34. Excelerate Energy has a 1 year low of $21.28 and a 1 year high of $43.17. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.41. The company has a current ratio of 2.43, a quick ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

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). The company had revenue of $317.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $293.49 million. Excelerate Energy had a net margin of 3.19% and a return on equity of 4.12%. Excelerate Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.40 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Excelerate Energy will post 1.16 EPS for the current year.

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

Excelerate Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors 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 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 11th. Excelerate Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EE has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays upped their target price on Excelerate Energy from $33.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target 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. Tudor Pickering upgraded Excelerate Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Excelerate Energy from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Excelerate Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $36.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Excelerate Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.00.

Excelerate Energy Company Profile

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.