New Fortress Energy (NASDAQ:NFE) Downgraded by Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley lowered shares of New Fortress Energy (NASDAQ:NFE) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. Morgan Stanley currently has $15.00 target price on the stock, down from their previous target price of $35.00.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on NFE. Barclays reduced their price target on New Fortress Energy from $27.00 to $19.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 5th. BTIG Research cut their price objective on shares of New Fortress Energy from $35.00 to $15.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a sell rating and set a $7.60 target price (down from $21.00) on shares of New Fortress Energy in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on New Fortress Energy from $40.00 to $17.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, New Fortress Energy has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $19.77.

New Fortress Energy Price Performance

New Fortress Energy stock opened at $10.09 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $12.60 and a 200-day moving average of $20.79. New Fortress Energy has a 52-week low of $8.20 and a 52-week high of $40.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 1.51.

New Fortress Energy (NASDAQ:NFE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 9th. The company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.50). The company had revenue of $428.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $465.52 million. New Fortress Energy had a net margin of 10.19% and a return on equity of 18.80%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.58 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that New Fortress Energy will post 0.54 EPS for the current year.

New Fortress Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.96%. New Fortress Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.18%.

Insider Transactions at New Fortress Energy

In other news, CEO Wesley R. Edens acquired 5,793,742 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $8.63 per share, for a total transaction of $49,999,993.46. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,721,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $308,280,126.45. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 37.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On New Fortress Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NFE. American National Bank bought a new position in shares of New Fortress Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in New Fortress Energy by 563.6% in the first quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 1,387 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 1,178 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its stake in New Fortress Energy by 125.7% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 1,253 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of New Fortress Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $95,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in New Fortress Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $119,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.61% of the company’s stock.

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.