Short Interest in Energy Recovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:ERII) Declines By 5.8%

Energy Recovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:ERII) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,620,000 shares, a decline of 5.8% from the December 15th total of 1,720,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 471,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days. Currently, 2.9% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Energy Recovery Stock Up 2.9 %

ERII stock opened at $14.77 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $855.04 million, a P/E ratio of 43.44 and a beta of 1.18. Energy Recovery has a 52 week low of $12.26 and a 52 week high of $20.27. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.31.

Energy Recovery (NASDAQ:ERII) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $38.60 million during 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%. The business’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.17 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Energy Recovery will post 0.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Energy Recovery

In related news, Director Arve Hanstveit sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.87, for a total value of $337,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 743,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,537,480.34. This represents a 2.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CTO Farshad Ghasripoor sold 10,526 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 126,961 shares in the company, valued at $2,281,489.17. This trade represents a 7.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 63,406 shares of company stock worth $1,166,088. Company insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Energy Recovery

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Energy Recovery by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 27,801 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $409,000 after buying an additional 3,594 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Energy Recovery by 552.4% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 106,301 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,563,000 after acquiring an additional 90,008 shares in the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in Energy Recovery in the 4th quarter valued at about $107,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Energy Recovery by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 150,559 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,213,000 after purchasing an additional 12,330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Energy Recovery by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 125,719 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,859,000 after purchasing an additional 1,618 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.