Genie Energy Ltd. (NYSE:GNE) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest fell 22.5% in April to 422,597 shares, leaving a short-interest ratio of 9.1 days and about 1.9% of the company’s shares sold short.
• Analysts maintain a consensus rating of “Hold”; Wall Street Zen recently downgraded Genie Energy from "strong-buy" to "buy" while Weiss Ratings upheld a "hold" rating.
• Shares traded down 2.3% to $13.77, the company has a market cap of about $365 million and a P/E of 17.2, and it pays a quarterly dividend of $0.075 (annualized $0.30) for a ~2.2% yield.

Genie Energy Ltd. (NYSE:GNE - Get Free Report) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 422,597 shares, a decline of 22.5% from the March 31st total of 545,149 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 46,237 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 9.1 days. Currently, 1.9% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GNE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Genie Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Genie Energy in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Genie Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GNE. Quarry LP bought a new position in Genie Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in Genie Energy by 168.2% during the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,406 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,509 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in Genie Energy by 236.5% during the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 2,830 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,989 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Genie Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $85,000. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Genie Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $124,000. 49.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Genie Energy Trading Down 2.3%

NYSE GNE traded down $0.32 on Wednesday, hitting $13.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,586 shares, compared to its average volume of 60,277. The company's 50-day moving average is $14.10 and its 200 day moving average is $14.33. The firm has a market cap of $364.91 million, a PE ratio of 17.21 and a beta of 0.19. Genie Energy has a 1-year low of $13.19 and a 1-year high of $28.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Genie Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Genie Energy's payout ratio is presently 37.50%.

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.

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