Genie Energy Ltd. (NYSE:GNE) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest
by Scott Moore · The Cerbat GemGenie Energy Ltd. (NYSE:GNE – Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 545,149 shares, a growth of 20.1% from the March 15th total of 453,912 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 69,439 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.9 days. Currently, 2.5% of the company’s shares are sold short.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of brokerages recently commented on GNE. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Genie Energy in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Genie Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Genie Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.
Read Our Latest Report on Genie Energy
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Genie Energy
Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Genie Energy by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 32,693 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 3,727 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new position in shares of Genie Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $230,000. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Genie Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $251,000. J. Goldman & Co LP lifted its holdings in shares of Genie Energy by 325.4% during the fourth quarter. J. Goldman & Co LP now owns 805,317 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $11,097,000 after purchasing an additional 616,017 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP lifted its holdings in shares of Genie Energy by 41.6% during the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 29,521 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $407,000 after purchasing an additional 8,668 shares during the last quarter. 49.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Genie Energy Stock Up 1.8%
GNE traded up $0.24 on Friday, hitting $13.86. The company had a trading volume of 100,052 shares, compared to its average volume of 54,790. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $367.29 million, a P/E ratio of 17.33 and a beta of 0.19. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.42. Genie Energy has a 52-week low of $13.27 and a 52-week high of $28.47.
Genie Energy Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Genie Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.50%.
Genie Energy Company Profile
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.