Energy Recovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:ERII) Short Interest Up 13.2% in December

Energy Recovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:ERII) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,720,000 shares, a growth of 13.2% from the November 30th total of 1,520,000 shares. Approximately 3.1% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 461,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Energy Recovery Price Performance

Shares of ERII stock traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $14.70. The company had a trading volume of 307,344 shares, compared to its average volume of 432,907. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.14. Energy Recovery has a 12 month low of $12.26 and a 12 month high of $20.27. The company has a market cap of $851.04 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.24 and a beta of 1.18.

Energy Recovery (NASDAQ:ERII) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $38.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.37 million. Energy Recovery had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 8.90%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.17 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Energy Recovery will post 0.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ERII. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Energy Recovery to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. B. Riley dropped their price target on Energy Recovery from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Fearnley Fonds cut Energy Recovery from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Energy Recovery in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $22.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on Energy Recovery from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Energy Recovery presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Arve Hanstveit sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.87, for a total transaction of $337,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 743,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,537,480.34. This trade represents a 2.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Rodney Clemente sold 6,505 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.98, for a total value of $116,959.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 133,823 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,406,137.54. This trade represents a 4.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 63,406 shares of company stock valued at $1,166,088 over the last quarter. Insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Energy Recovery

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Energy Recovery during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Energy Recovery by 5,032.5% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,260 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 4,177 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. bought a new stake in Energy Recovery in the second quarter worth about $149,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Energy Recovery by 19.8% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,998 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $159,000 after acquiring an additional 1,986 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Energy Recovery during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $193,000. 83.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Energy Recovery Company Profile

Energy Recovery, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and sells energy efficiency technology solutions in the Americas, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Europe. The company operates through Water and Emerging Technologies segments. The company offers high and low pressure, and ultra pressure exchangers; AT and LPT hydraulic turbochargers; and high-pressure feed and circulation booster pumps for use in seawater and brackish desalination, and wastewater treatment.