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

Key Points

• Short interest rose 20.1% to 545,149 shares as of March 31, implying a short-interest ratio of 7.9 days and that roughly 2.5% of the company's shares are shorted.
• The stock's consensus rating is Hold; Wall Street Zen downgraded GNE from "strong-buy" to "buy" while Weiss Ratings maintained a "hold."
• Shares traded near $13.86 (market cap ≈ $367.3M) and the company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.075 (annual $0.30), a yield of about 2.2% with a payout ratio of 37.5%.

Genie Energy Ltd. (NYSE:GNE - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 545,149 shares, an increase of 20.1% from the March 15th total of 453,912 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 69,439 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.9 days. Approximately 2.5% of the company's shares are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Institutional Trading of Genie Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GNE. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Genie Energy during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,509 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,989 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Genie Energy during the first quarter worth about $85,000. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Genie Energy during the third quarter worth about $124,000. 49.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Genie Energy Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:GNE traded up $0.24 during trading on Friday, reaching $13.86. 100,052 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 54,790. The firm has a market capitalization of $367.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.33 and a beta of 0.19. Genie Energy has a 52-week low of $13.27 and a 52-week high of $28.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The business's fifty day moving average is $14.20 and its 200-day moving average is $14.42.

Genie Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Genie Energy Company Profile

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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