Energy Recovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:ERII) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Energy Recovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:ERII) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in 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. Currently, 3.1% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 461,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on ERII. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Energy Recovery in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $22.00 price target for the company. Fearnley Fonds lowered Energy Recovery from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. B. Riley cut their price target on Energy Recovery from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Energy Recovery from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Energy Recovery to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $20.75.

Energy Recovery Stock Down 0.1 %

ERII stock traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $14.70. 307,344 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 432,907. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $16.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.13. The stock has a market cap of $851.04 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.24 and a beta of 1.18. Energy Recovery has a fifty-two week low of $12.26 and a fifty-two week high of $20.27.

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

Insider Transactions at Energy Recovery

In other news, CTO Farshad Ghasripoor sold 10,526 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.97, for a total transaction of $189,152.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 126,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,281,489.17. This trade represents a 7.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Rodney Clemente sold 6,505 shares of Energy Recovery stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.98, for a total transaction of $116,959.90. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 133,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,406,137.54. This represents a 4.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 63,406 shares of company stock worth $1,166,088. Company insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Energy Recovery

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Energy Recovery by 14.1% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,238,219 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $21,533,000 after acquiring an additional 153,381 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Energy Recovery during the 2nd quarter valued at $472,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Energy Recovery during the 3rd quarter worth $15,237,000. Summit Global Investments purchased a new position in shares of Energy Recovery in the 3rd quarter worth about $939,000. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its position in Energy Recovery by 376.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 96,677 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,681,000 after buying an additional 76,393 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.58% of the company’s stock.

About Energy Recovery

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.