Genie Energy (NYSE:GNE) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Genie Energy Ltd. (NYSE:GNE) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday. The company traded as high as $19.05 and last traded at $19.1660, with a volume of 204,112 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $17.72.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GNE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Genie Energy in a report on Monday, September 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered Genie Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Freedom Capital downgraded Genie Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Genie Energy Stock Up 8.2%

The stock has a market cap of $504.45 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.66 and a beta of 0.30. The business’s 50 day moving average is $16.25 and its 200-day moving average is $14.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.62 and a current ratio of 2.78.

Genie Energy (NYSE:GNE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.18. Genie Energy had a net margin of 5.93% and a return on equity of 13.28%. The business had revenue of $100.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $104.57 million.

Genie Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be paid a $0.0750 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Genie Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.04%.

Institutional Trading of Genie Energy

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Genie Energy by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 24,016 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $384,000 after buying an additional 1,391 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC purchased a new stake in Genie Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Vise Technologies Inc. raised its position in shares of Genie Energy by 31.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 14,934 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $239,000 after buying an additional 3,545 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Genie Energy by 5.0% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 212,250 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,001,000 after buying an additional 10,044 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in Genie Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $175,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.15% of the company’s stock.

About Genie Energy

Genie Energy Ltd. is an energy services company that provides electricity and natural gas to residential and small-business customers through retail energy businesses. Its offerings may include energy supply plans, renewable energy options and related services, with operations conducted through a portfolio of brands and subsidiaries.

The company’s retail energy activities have historically included serving customers in U.S. deregulated energy markets, where consumers can select an independent supplier rather than purchasing supply directly from a regulated utility.