Excelerate Energy (NYSE:EE) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Excelerate Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EE)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $37.44 and last traded at $36.2720, with a volume of 82747 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $36.27.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Northland Securities set a $50.00 target price on shares of Excelerate Energy in a report on Friday. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Excelerate Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $36.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Excelerate Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Excelerate Energy from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Excelerate Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, January 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.56.

Excelerate Energy Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $4.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $29.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 2.39 and a current ratio of 2.39.

Excelerate Energy (NYSE:EE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.13. Excelerate Energy had a return on equity of 4.34% and a net margin of 3.46%.The business had revenue of $391.04 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $270.82 million. The business’s revenue was up 102.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Excelerate Energy, Inc. will post 1.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Excelerate Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS raised its stake in shares of Excelerate Energy by 645.2% in the third quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 69,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,746,000 after purchasing an additional 60,000 shares during the last quarter. Fortress Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Excelerate Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,130,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of Excelerate Energy in the second quarter worth about $519,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Excelerate Energy by 32.9% in the 2nd quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 171,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,034,000 after purchasing an additional 42,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its position in shares of Excelerate Energy by 456.6% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 109,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,197,000 after buying an additional 89,448 shares in the last quarter. 21.79% of the stock is currently owned by 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.