Genesis Energy (NYSE:GEL) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Genesis Energy, L.P. (NYSE:GEL) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Monday . Approximately 869,023 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 213% from the previous session’s volume of 277,849 shares.The stock last traded at $14.6060 and had previously closed at $15.13.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on GEL shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Genesis Energy from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Genesis Energy from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.00.

Genesis Energy Trading Down 5.0%

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -75.68 and a beta of 0.63. The company’s 50-day moving average is $16.45 and its 200-day moving average is $16.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 25.62.

Genesis Energy (NYSE:GEL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The pipeline company reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by ($0.22). Genesis Energy had a net margin of 2.11% and a return on equity of 23.65%. The company had revenue of $446.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $446.56 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($4.06) earnings per share. Genesis Energy’s revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Genesis Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. Genesis Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -378.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Genesis Energy

In related news, SVP Garland G. Gaspard purchased 12,340 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $16.34 per share, for a total transaction of $201,635.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 36,881 shares in the company, valued at approximately $602,635.54. The trade was a 50.28% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Genesis Energy by 6.7% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 21,838 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $389,000 after purchasing an additional 1,371 shares during the period. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of Genesis Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its stake in shares of Genesis Energy by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 104,917 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,637,000 after purchasing an additional 1,647 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Genesis Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, ARS Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Genesis Energy by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC now owns 32,000 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $499,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.82% of the company’s stock.

About Genesis Energy

Genesis Energy LP (NYSE: GEL) is a publicly traded master limited partnership headquartered in Houston, Texas, that owns and operates a diversified portfolio of energy infrastructure assets in the United States. The company’s primary focus is on the transportation, storage and delivery of refined petroleum products, serving major domestic markets across the Gulf Coast, Atlantic Seaboard and inland waterway systems.

Genesis Energy’s operations are organized into several key business segments.