Short Interest in New Fortress Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:NFE) Grows By 22.7%

New Fortress Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:NFE) was the target of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 38,830,000 shares, a growth of 22.7% from the February 28th total of 31,650,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 5,090,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.6 days. Approximately 21.8% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Christopher S. Guinta acquired 5,000 shares of New Fortress Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $8.57 per share, for a total transaction of $42,850.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 206,653 shares in the company, valued at $1,771,016.21. This trade represents a 2.48 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 37.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On New Fortress Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NFE. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC bought a new position in New Fortress Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $19,618,000. Stifel Financial Corp bought a new stake in New Fortress Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $990,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in New Fortress Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $749,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of New Fortress Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $1,252,000. Finally, Swiss National Bank lifted its position in shares of New Fortress Energy by 63.5% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 198,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,997,000 after acquiring an additional 77,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.61% of the company’s stock.

New Fortress Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NFE traded down $1.40 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $7.17. 3,353,084 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,316,146. New Fortress Energy has a twelve month low of $7.06 and a twelve month high of $30.71. The firm has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.88 and a beta of 1.58. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $11.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.06, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

New Fortress Energy (NASDAQ:NFE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 3rd. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $679.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $613.24 million. New Fortress Energy had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 7.84%. Equities research analysts anticipate that New Fortress Energy will post 0.36 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NFE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $8.00 price objective on shares of New Fortress Energy in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of New Fortress Energy from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on New Fortress Energy from $23.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, New Fortress Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.00.

About New Fortress Energy

New Fortress Energy Inc operates as an integrated gas-to-power energy infrastructure company that provides energy and development services to end-users worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Terminals and Infrastructure, and Ships. The Terminals and Infrastructure segment engages in the natural gas procurement and liquefaction; and shipping, logistics, facilities and conversion, or development of natural gas-fired power generation.