PrimeEnergy Corporation (NASDAQ:PNRG) Short Interest Up 60.2% in May

PrimeEnergy Corporation (NASDAQ:PNRG) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in May. As of May 29th, there was short interest totaling 81,558 shares, an increase of 60.2% from the May 14th total of 50,912 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 65,731 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.2 days. Currently, 14.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PrimeEnergy news, major shareholder Rothschild Robert De sold 13,274 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.60, for a total transaction of $3,074,258.40. Following the transaction, the insider owned 187,483 shares in the company, valued at $43,421,062.80. This represents a 6.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Clint Hurt sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.92, for a total transaction of $2,309,200.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 93,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,645,748.04. The trade was a 9.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,274 shares of company stock worth $5,824,338. Company insiders own 65.28% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PrimeEnergy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in PrimeEnergy by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 78,872 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $18,366,000 after purchasing an additional 6,902 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in PrimeEnergy by 143.1% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 52,180 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $8,716,000 after purchasing an additional 30,718 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in PrimeEnergy by 690.7% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 36,546 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $6,249,000 after purchasing an additional 31,924 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in PrimeEnergy by 60.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,258 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $4,219,000 after purchasing an additional 9,522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in PrimeEnergy by 537.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 19,950 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $3,411,000 after purchasing an additional 16,821 shares during the last quarter.

PrimeEnergy Stock Performance

Shares of PrimeEnergy stock traded down $3.81 on Tuesday, reaching $174.29. 2,863 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 59,117. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $219.60 and its 200-day moving average is $199.49. PrimeEnergy has a one year low of $126.40 and a one year high of $278.90. The firm has a market cap of $282.34 million, a PE ratio of 19.61 and a beta of -0.24.

PrimeEnergy (NASDAQ:PNRG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The oil and natural gas company reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.57 by ($6.75). PrimeEnergy had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 12.06%.The firm had revenue of $41.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.00 million.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PNRG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of PrimeEnergy in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Freedom Capital downgraded shares of PrimeEnergy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of PrimeEnergy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce”.

PrimeEnergy Company Profile

PrimeEnergy Resources Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in acquisition, development, and production of oil and natural gas properties in the United States. The company owns leasehold, mineral, and royalty interests in producing and non-producing oil and gas properties; and operates approximately 534 active wells and owns non-operating interests and royalties in 952 additional wells. It also acquires producing oil and gas properties through joint ventures with industry partners; and provides contract services to third parties, including well-servicing support, site-preparation, and construction services for oil and gas drilling and reworking operations.