Aris Water Solutions (NYSE:ARIS) Shares Up 5.4% – Still a Buy?

Aris Water Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:ARIS) shares rose 5.4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $24.82 and last traded at $24.59. Approximately 232,849 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 796,745 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.34.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ARIS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Aris Water Solutions from $21.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. US Capital Advisors lowered shares of Aris Water Solutions from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Aris Water Solutions from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Aris Water Solutions from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Aris Water Solutions from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $19.00 to $22.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.17.

Aris Water Solutions Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.89 and a beta of 1.94. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $24.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 1.72.

Aris Water Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were issued a dividend of $0.105 per share. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. Aris Water Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aris Water Solutions news, major shareholder S Corp Gable sold 38,739 shares of Aris Water Solutions stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.03, for a total transaction of $969,637.17. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,111,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $77,886,802.14. The trade was a 1.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Debra Coy sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.39, for a total value of $38,085.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 42,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,068,461.98. This trade represents a 3.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 937,508 shares of company stock valued at $23,642,936. Insiders own 23.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aris Water Solutions

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Eagle Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Aris Water Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at about $10,828,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Aris Water Solutions by 140.3% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 487,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,644,000 after acquiring an additional 284,788 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Aris Water Solutions by 116.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 402,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,783,000 after acquiring an additional 216,158 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Aris Water Solutions by 32.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 563,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,836,000 after purchasing an additional 139,259 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in Aris Water Solutions by 988.8% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 137,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,327,000 after purchasing an additional 125,281 shares during the period. 39.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Aris Water Solutions

Aris Water Solutions, Inc, an environmental infrastructure and solutions company, provides water handling and recycling solutions. The company's produced water handling business gathers, transports, unless recycled, and handles produced water generated from oil and natural gas production. Its water solutions business develops and operates recycling facilities to treat, store, and recycle produced water.