Should You Buy Capital Clean Energy Carriers Corp (CCEC) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.
Conclusion
Hold
Latest Price
22.580
1 Day change
4.63%
52 Week Range
24.830
Analysis Updated At
2026/01/28
Not a good buy right now for a beginner long-term investor who wants to act immediately. The long-term LNG shipping thesis is attractive and Wall Street targets imply ~17%–21% upside (to $25–$26), but current fundamentals show sharp YoY profit/EPS deterioration and the chart is in a consolidation near resistance with weakening momentum. I would hold off on new buying until after the 2026-02-05 earnings update (or until price clearly breaks and holds above ~21.61–21.94).
Technical Analysis
**Intellectia Proprietary Trading Signals**
- [AI Stock Picker](module://ai_stock_pick): No signal on given stock today.
- [SwingMax](module://swingmax): No signal on given stock recently.
**Trend / Momentum**: Mildly bullish-to-neutral. MACD histogram is above zero (bullish), but contracting (momentum fading). RSI(6) ~59.5 is neutral (not overbought), suggesting no strong edge.
**Moving Averages**: Converging MAs indicate consolidation rather than a clean uptrend.
**Key Levels (near-term)**: Price 21.45 is slightly above the pivot (21.078) and just below resistance.
- Support: 21.08 (pivot), then 20.54 (S1)
- Resistance: 21.61 (R1), then 21.94 (R2)
**Interpretation**: The stock is near a decision point (below R1). Without a proprietary buy signal and with momentum contracting, the setup is not compelling for an “impatient buy-now” long-term entry.
**Pattern-based odds (provided)**: Estimated +1.16% next week and +3.05% next month—positive but not strong enough to outweigh the current uncertainty.
Options Data
Bearish
Open Interest Put-Call Ratio
Bullish
Option Volume Put-Call Ratio
Options sentiment is mixed-to-defensive:
- Open Interest Put/Call Ratio 1.26 suggests more puts outstanding than calls (often indicates hedging or cautious sentiment).
- Volume is extremely light (only 2 calls traded, 0 puts), so same-day flow isn’t very informative.
- IV context: 30D IV ~39% vs historical vol ~48.6% (IV not extreme). IV rank ~10 and IV percentile ~38 imply options are not priced for unusually large moves right now.
Technical Summary
Sell
5
Buy
11
Positive Catalysts
- Fleet buildout visibility: expected to own a larger gas carrier fleet after final newbuild deliveries in 2027 (supports longer-term earnings power if charter markets cooperate).
Neutral/Negative Catalysts
with contracting MACD momentum—no clear breakout trend.
leans defensive, consistent with caution/hedging.
Financial Performance
Latest quarter: 2025/Q3.
- Revenue: 99.51M, down -2.86% YoY (slight top-line decline).
- Net Income: 23.76M, down -203.13% YoY (sharp deterioration YoY).
- EPS: 0.40, down -197.56% YoY (sharp deterioration YoY).
- Gross Margin: 74.47%, down -0.36% YoY (roughly stable margin).
Takeaway: Margins appear stable, but earnings/EPS declined materially YoY, indicating the near-term fundamentals do not currently support an aggressive “buy now” decision ahead of the next earnings update.
Growth
Profitability
Efficiency
Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends
Recent analyst trend is positive overall (initiations/ratings remain bullish) with minor price target trimming:
- 2025-12-19: BTIG initiated at Buy, PT $25.
- 2025-11-03: Evercore ISI kept Outperform, PT trimmed to $26 from $27 (cut attributed to quarter details/discontinued ops classification).
Wall Street pros: Strong LNG-cycle thesis, visible fleet expansion, and implied upside from current price (~$21.45) to $25–$26.
Wall Street cons: Recent quarter’s EPS/EBITDA miss commentary and reduced PT (even if modest) highlights execution/accounting noise and near-term earnings sensitivity.
Politicians/congress: No recent congress trading data available. Hedge funds/insiders: neutral with no significant recent trend noted.
Wall Street analysts forecast CCEC stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for CCEC is 25.5 USD with a low forecast of 25 USD and a high forecast of 26 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
2 Analyst Rating
Wall Street analysts forecast CCEC stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for CCEC is 25.5 USD with a low forecast of 25 USD and a high forecast of 26 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
2 Buy
0 Hold
0 Sell
Moderate Buy
Current: 21.580
Low
25
Averages
25.5
High
26
Current: 21.580
Low
25
Averages
25.5
High
26
BTIG
Buy
initiated
$25
AI Analysis
2025-12-19
Reason
BTIG
Price Target
$25
AI Analysis
2025-12-19
initiated
Buy
Reason
BTIG initiated coverage of Capital Clean Energy Carriers with a Buy rating and $25 price target. The firm says liquified natural gas infrastructure is going through a "super-cycle" with global LNG liquefaction capacity expected to eclipse 700 million tonnes per annum by 2030, or 40% growth from current levels. BTIG says that after taking its final newbuild deliveries in 2027, Capital Clean Energy will own 28 gas carriers with an estimated fleet value of $4.8B. The company is positioned to benefit from the ongoing LNG infrastructure buildout, the firm contends.
Evercore ISI
Jonathan Chappell
Outperform
to
Outperform
downgrade
$27 -> $26
2025-11-03
Reason
Evercore ISI
Jonathan Chappell
Price Target
$27 -> $26
2025-11-03
downgrade
Outperform
to
Outperform
Reason
Evercore ISI analyst Jonathan Chappell lowered the firm's price target on Capital Clean Energy Carriers to $26 from $27 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. Q3 EPS and EBITDA missed forecasts mainly, because of the containership sale categorized under "Discontinued Operations," as the quarter was stable operationally, the analyst tells investors.
Unlock Full Analyst Thesis, Get the complete breakdown of rating reason for CCEC