Short Interest in Excelerate Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EE) Rises By 52.4%

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 52.4% to 1,417,543 shares as of March 13, implying a 2.2 days-to-cover ratio and about 1.3% of the company's stock currently shorted.
• Analysts hold a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average target of $39.00, following mixed notes and recent price-target increases from Barclays ($41) and Jefferies ($40).
• Excelerate slightly missed EPS expectations (earned $0.29 vs. $0.30) while revenue rose 15.6% year-over-year; the company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.08 and has authorized a $75 million share buyback (≈2.4% of shares).

Excelerate Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EE - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 1,417,543 shares, an increase of 52.4% from the February 26th total of 930,001 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 652,026 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days. Currently, 1.3% of the company's stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EE has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Excelerate Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Northland Securities set a $50.00 target price on shares of Excelerate Energy in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Excelerate Energy from $33.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Dnb Carnegie downgraded shares of Excelerate Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Excelerate Energy from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $39.00.

Excelerate Energy Price Performance

Shares of EE opened at $33.51 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.82 billion, a PE ratio of 25.39, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.34. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $37.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 2.43 and a current ratio of 2.43. Excelerate Energy has a twelve month low of $21.28 and a twelve month high of $43.17.

Excelerate Energy (NYSE:EE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $317.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $293.49 million. Excelerate Energy had a return on equity of 4.12% and a net margin of 3.19%.The business's revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Excelerate Energy will post 1.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Excelerate Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 11th. Excelerate Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.24%.

Excelerate Energy announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $75.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Excelerate Energy

In other news, insider Oliver Simpson sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.15, for a total value of $204,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 51,719 shares in the company, valued at $1,766,203.85. This represents a 10.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.83% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Excelerate Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Excelerate Energy by 91.7% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 18,117 shares of the company's stock valued at $520,000 after purchasing an additional 8,665 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Excelerate Energy by 26.8% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 415,206 shares of the company's stock worth $11,908,000 after buying an additional 87,672 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Excelerate Energy by 27.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 442,764 shares of the company's stock worth $12,698,000 after buying an additional 95,565 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Excelerate Energy by 133.9% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 63,505 shares of the company's stock worth $1,821,000 after buying an additional 36,354 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Excelerate Energy by 41.6% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 608,070 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,830,000 after buying an additional 178,507 shares during the last quarter. 21.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Excelerate Energy

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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