NextDecade (NASDAQ:NEXT) Stock Jumps 9.9% After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

NextDecade Corporation (NASDAQ:NEXT) was up 9.9% during trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $7.21 and last traded at $7.1560. 727,397 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 3,327,715 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.51.

The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.71) by $1.25.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on NEXT. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of NextDecade in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of NextDecade in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $8.50 price target on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of NextDecade from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Saturday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $8.10.

Institutional Trading of NextDecade

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NEXT. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in NextDecade during the second quarter worth about $179,608,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in NextDecade by 12.4% during the first quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,216,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,959,000 after buying an additional 574,080 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in NextDecade in the second quarter valued at $14,415,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of NextDecade in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,613,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of NextDecade by 56.7% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 416,955 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,194,000 after purchasing an additional 150,844 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.74% of the company’s stock.

NextDecade Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.28 and a beta of 1.53. The company’s 50 day moving average is $6.84 and its 200-day moving average is $6.91.

NextDecade Company Profile

NextDecade Corporation is an energy company focused on developing liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure and related carbon-management solutions. The company’s principal project is Rio Grande LNG, an LNG export facility located near Brownsville, Texas, on the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Rio Grande LNG is designed to receive natural gas, process it into LNG, and export the product by ship to customers in international markets. The project is being developed in multiple phases and is intended to serve energy markets in Europe, Asia and other regions seeking access to U.S.