Excelerate Energy, Inc. $EE Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group cut its Excelerate Energy stake by 46.9% in the first quarter, selling 28,649 shares and retaining 32,441 shares valued at approximately $1.08 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 21.79% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall, with Excelerate Energy carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $40.64. Goldman Sachs initiated coverage with a “Buy” rating and a $49 price target, while Morgan Stanley lowered its target to $40 and maintained an “Equal Weight” rating.
• Excelerate reported quarterly revenue of $433.44 million, up 37.6% year over year, though earnings of $0.37 per share narrowly missed estimates. The company also raised its quarterly dividend from $0.08 to $0.09 per share, implying an annualized yield of about 0.9%.

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Excelerate Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EE - Free Report) by 46.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 32,441 shares of the company's stock after selling 28,649 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Excelerate Energy were worth $1,084,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in Excelerate Energy by 79.0% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 416,082 shares of the company's stock worth $11,671,000 after buying an additional 183,664 shares in the last quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in Excelerate Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $2,590,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Excelerate Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $30,658,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its holdings in Excelerate Energy by 130.2% in the first quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 62,018 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,073,000 after buying an additional 35,078 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT purchased a new position in Excelerate Energy in the first quarter valued at about $10,862,000. 21.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Excelerate Energy from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Excelerate Energy in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Excelerate Energy in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $49.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Excelerate Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Northland Securities set a $48.00 target price on Excelerate Energy in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $40.64.

Excelerate Energy Stock Performance

Shares of EE opened at $39.22 on Friday. Excelerate Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.28 and a 12-month high of $43.17. The stock has a market cap of $4.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.89, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a 50-day moving average of $36.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.00.

Excelerate Energy (NYSE:EE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.02). Excelerate Energy had a net margin of 2.98% and a return on equity of 3.85%. The business had revenue of $433.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $351.68 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.49 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 37.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Excelerate Energy, Inc. will post 1.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Excelerate Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be paid a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. This is an increase from Excelerate Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Excelerate Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.02%.

Excelerate Energy 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.

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