RGC Resources Inc. (NASDAQ:RGCO) Short Interest Up 27.4% in January

RGC Resources Inc. (NASDAQ:RGCO) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 72,859 shares, a growth of 27.4% from the December 31st total of 57,187 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 13,568 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.4 days. Approximately 0.8% of the company’s shares are sold short. Approximately 0.8% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 13,568 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.4 days.

Institutional Trading of RGC Resources

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of RGCO. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of RGC Resources by 647.1% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 1,270 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in RGC Resources by 200.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,602 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,068 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in RGC Resources by 80.9% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,816 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in RGC Resources by 45.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,549 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in RGC Resources during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $59,000. Institutional investors own 35.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of RGC Resources in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

RGC Resources Stock Up 2.0%

RGCO traded up $0.43 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $22.14. The company had a trading volume of 9,412 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,992. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $21.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.71. RGC Resources has a 52 week low of $19.50 and a 52 week high of $23.82. The company has a market capitalization of $229.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.30 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

RGC Resources (NASDAQ:RGCO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The energy company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter. RGC Resources had a return on equity of 11.56% and a net margin of 13.93%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.16 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that RGC Resources will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RGC Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 16th will be given a dividend of $0.2175 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 16th. This is a positive change from RGC Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. RGC Resources’s payout ratio is currently 67.97%.

About RGC Resources

RGC Resources, Inc (NASDAQ: RGCO) is a natural gas distribution and transmission company headquartered in Wheeling, West Virginia. Through its regulated subsidiaries, the company provides energy delivery services to residential, commercial and industrial customers across northern West Virginia, western Pennsylvania and parts of Maryland. RGC Resources focuses on maintaining a safe and efficient local pipeline network to ensure reliable supply to its service areas.

The company operates two primary business segments: distribution and transmission.