Excelerate Energy (NYSE:EE) Trading Down 3.4% After Insider Selling

Excelerate Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EE) traded down 3.4% on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $33.14 and last traded at $33.3650. 49,721 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 466,055 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.54.

Specifically, insider Oliver Simpson sold 6,000 shares of Excelerate Energy stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.15, for a total transaction of $204,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,719 shares in the company, valued at $1,766,203.85. This trade represents a 10.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Excelerate Energy from $33.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Excelerate Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Excelerate Energy from $30.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Northland Securities set a $50.00 price objective on Excelerate Energy in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Excelerate Energy from $29.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Excelerate Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.00.

Excelerate Energy Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34. The business’s 50-day moving average is $37.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.50. The company has a quick ratio of 2.43, a current ratio of 2.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Excelerate Energy (NYSE:EE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.01). The firm 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.40 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Excelerate Energy, Inc. will post 1.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Excelerate Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Excelerate Energy declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $75.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Excelerate Energy

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Martingale Asset Management L P grew its stake in shares of Excelerate Energy by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 74,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,081,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Excelerate Energy by 19.2% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 392 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. raised its stake in Excelerate Energy by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 25,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $642,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments lifted its holdings in Excelerate Energy by 3.2% during the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 12,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $327,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in Excelerate Energy by 32.8% during the third quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 2,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the last quarter. 21.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.