RGC Resources Inc. (NASDAQ:RGCO) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

RGC Resources Inc. (NASDAQ:RGCO) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 60,531 shares, a decline of 16.9% from the January 15th total of 72,859 shares. Approximately 0.6% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 10,570 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.7 days. Based on an average daily volume of 10,570 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.7 days. Approximately 0.6% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RGC Resources

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of RGC Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of RGC Resources from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy”.

RGC Resources Trading Up 0.8%

NASDAQ RGCO traded up $0.18 during trading on Monday, hitting $21.86. The stock had a trading volume of 6,278 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,627. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a market capitalization of $227.13 million, a PE ratio of 17.63 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $21.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.80. RGC Resources has a twelve month low of $19.50 and a twelve month high of $23.82.

RGC Resources (NASDAQ:RGCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The energy company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.05). RGC Resources had a return on equity of 11.11% and a net margin of 13.11%.The company had revenue of $30.26 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.21 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that RGC Resources will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current year.

RGC Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 16th were issued a $0.2175 dividend. This represents a $0.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 16th. This is a positive change from RGC Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. RGC Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.16%.

RGC Resources Company Profile

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.