Excelerate Energy (NYSE:EE) Stock Price Down 3.4% on Insider Selling

Excelerate Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EE) dropped 3.4% during trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $33.14 and last traded at $33.3650. Approximately 49,721 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily 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 on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.15, for a total transaction of $204,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 51,719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,766,203.85. The trade was a 10.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on EE shares. Dnb Carnegie lowered shares of Excelerate Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $44.00 target price on shares of Excelerate Energy in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Excelerate Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $36.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, January 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Excelerate Energy from $29.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Excelerate Energy in a report on Monday, December 29th. 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.00.

Excelerate Energy Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average of $37.18 and a 200-day moving average of $30.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 2.43 and a current ratio of 2.43. The company has a market capitalization of $3.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.34.

Excelerate Energy (NYSE:EE) last posted 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 analysts’ expectations of $293.49 million. Excelerate Energy had a return on equity of 4.12% and a net margin of 3.19%.Excelerate Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.40 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Excelerate Energy, Inc. will post 1.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Excelerate Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. Excelerate Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.24%.

Excelerate Energy announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $75.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Excelerate Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Excelerate Energy by 24.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,607,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,181,000 after buying an additional 719,148 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Excelerate Energy by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,405,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,464,000 after buying an additional 11,731 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Excelerate Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $30,658,000. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Excelerate Energy by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 949,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,640,000 after buying an additional 25,600 shares during the period. Finally, Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP grew its position in Excelerate Energy by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 781,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,689,000 after acquiring an additional 340,747 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 21.79% of the company’s stock.

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.