Kahn Brothers Group Inc. Invests $2.47 Billion in Genie Energy Ltd. $GNE

Kahn Brothers Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Genie Energy Ltd. (NYSE:GNE) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 175,011 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,474,655,000. Genie Energy comprises approximately 5.0% of Kahn Brothers Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in Genie Energy by 92.9% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 153,773 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,174,000 after acquiring an additional 74,046 shares during the last quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Genie Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $124,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Genie Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $85,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Genie Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Genie Energy in the second quarter valued at about $175,000. 49.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on GNE shares. Wall Street Zen cut Genie Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Genie Energy from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Freedom Capital downgraded shares of Genie Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Genie Energy Price Performance

Shares of Genie Energy stock opened at $14.90 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $392.30 million, a P/E ratio of 18.40 and a beta of 0.20. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.20. Genie Energy Ltd. has a 12 month low of $12.69 and a 12 month high of $16.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.89 and a quick ratio of 2.75.

Genie Energy (NYSE:GNE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.18. Genie Energy had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 5.05%.The firm had revenue of $100.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $104.57 million.

Genie Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. Genie Energy’s payout ratio is 37.04%.

About Genie Energy

Genie Energy Ltd. (NYSE: GNE) is a diversified energy holding company that operates through two primary segments: upstream oil and natural gas exploration and retail energy supply. Its exploration arm, Genie Energy E&P, pursues development of oil shale resources and conventional hydrocarbon deposits, holding licenses for projects in regions such as Israel’s Shefela basin and Jordan’s oil shale formations. The division also explores select opportunities in North America, leveraging technical partnerships to advance resource evaluation and pilot production programs.

Genie Retail Energy provides electricity and natural gas to residential and small commercial customers under regulated and deregulated frameworks.