Genie Energy Ltd. (NYSE:GNE) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Genie Energy Ltd. (NYSE:GNE) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 453,912 shares, a decline of 20.0% from the February 26th total of 567,642 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 56,178 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 8.1 days. Currently, 2.1% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Genie Energy Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of GNE stock traded up $0.22 on Wednesday, hitting $14.36. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,319 shares, compared to its average volume of 64,101. The stock has a market capitalization of $380.34 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.95 and a beta of 0.11. Genie Energy has a fifty-two week low of $13.27 and a fifty-two week high of $28.47. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $14.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.74.

Genie Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 18th. Genie Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 37.50%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Genie Energy by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 32,693 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $451,000 after purchasing an additional 3,727 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new position in shares of Genie Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $230,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Genie Energy in the fourth quarter worth $251,000. J. Goldman & Co LP lifted its stake in shares of Genie Energy by 325.4% in the fourth quarter. J. Goldman & Co LP now owns 805,317 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $11,097,000 after buying an additional 616,017 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP boosted its holdings in shares of Genie Energy by 41.6% during the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 29,521 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $407,000 after buying an additional 8,668 shares during the period. 49.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Genie Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Genie Energy in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

About Genie Energy

Genie Energy Ltd. (NYSE: GNE) is a diversified energy holding company that operates through two primary segments: upstream oil and natural gas exploration and retail energy supply. Its exploration arm, Genie Energy E&P, pursues development of oil shale resources and conventional hydrocarbon deposits, holding licenses for projects in regions such as Israel’s Shefela basin and Jordan’s oil shale formations. The division also explores select opportunities in North America, leveraging technical partnerships to advance resource evaluation and pilot production programs.

Genie Retail Energy provides electricity and natural gas to residential and small commercial customers under regulated and deregulated frameworks.