RGC Resources Inc. (NASDAQ:RGCO) Short Interest Down 19.3% in December

RGC Resources Inc. (NASDAQ:RGCO) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 57,187 shares, a drop of 19.3% from the December 15th total of 70,864 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 13,258 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.3 days. Approximately 0.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Approximately 0.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 13,258 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.3 days.

RGC Resources Trading Down 2.5%

NASDAQ RGCO traded down $0.55 during trading on Monday, hitting $21.62. 12,316 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,054. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $21.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.79. RGC Resources has a 12-month low of $19.50 and a 12-month high of $23.82. The firm has a market cap of $223.77 million, a P/E ratio of 16.89 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

RGC Resources (NASDAQ:RGCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 4th. The energy company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter. RGC Resources had a return on equity of 11.56% and a net margin of 13.93%.During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.16 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that RGC Resources will post 1.23 EPS for the current year.

RGC Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 16th will be given a $0.2175 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 16th. This is an increase from RGC Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.87 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. RGC Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of RGC Resources in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in RGCO. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in RGC Resources by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,654 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $283,000 after buying an additional 668 shares during the last quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of RGC Resources in the second quarter valued at about $59,000. Prospera Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in RGC Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,544,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in RGC Resources in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $381,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of RGC Resources by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 198,394 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $4,441,000 after buying an additional 1,701 shares during the last quarter. 35.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About RGC Resources

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.