Energy Recovery (NASDAQ:ERII) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Energy Recovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:ERII)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $13.08, but opened at $13.50. Energy Recovery shares last traded at $13.13, with a volume of 51,261 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Energy Recovery from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. B. Riley lowered shares of Energy Recovery from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $12.50 in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.88.

Energy Recovery Stock Down 2.4%

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $14.93 and its 200-day moving average is $15.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $695.57 million, a PE ratio of 37.37 and a beta of 1.09.

Energy Recovery (NASDAQ:ERII) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.03 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $8.07 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.97 million. Energy Recovery had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 8.90%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.08) earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Energy Recovery, Inc. will post 0.36 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Energy Recovery news, SVP Rodney Clemente sold 21,444 shares of Energy Recovery stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.42, for a total transaction of $330,666.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 111,109 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,713,300.78. The trade was a 16.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Arve Hanstveit sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.34, for a total transaction of $817,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 693,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,326,593.88. This trade represents a 6.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Energy Recovery

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Energy Recovery by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 150,559 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,213,000 after buying an additional 12,330 shares in the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new position in Energy Recovery in the 4th quarter valued at $107,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $1,563,000 after purchasing an additional 90,008 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Energy Recovery by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 27,801 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $409,000 after purchasing an additional 3,594 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Energy Recovery by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,242,889 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $18,270,000 after purchasing an additional 4,670 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.