Aris Water Solutions (NYSE:ARIS) Sees Large Volume Increase - Here's What Happened

Aris Water Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:ARIS - Get Free Report) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 565,260 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 6% from the previous session's volume of 534,189 shares.The stock last traded at $33.55 and had previously closed at $32.59.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on ARIS. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Aris Water Solutions from $21.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com downgraded Aris Water Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $26.00 price objective (up previously from $18.00) on shares of Aris Water Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Aris Water Solutions from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Aris Water Solutions from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $27.00.

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Aris Water Solutions Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 1.72. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $28.89 and a 200 day moving average of $24.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.60 and a beta of 1.81.

Aris Water Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. This is a positive change from Aris Water Solutions's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. Aris Water Solutions's dividend payout ratio is currently 70.00%.

Insider Activity at Aris Water Solutions

In other news, insider Nicholas A. Patterson sold 8,299 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.60, for a total transaction of $253,949.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 58,228 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,781,776.80. This trade represents a 12.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jeffrey K. Hunt sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.92, for a total transaction of $289,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 44,827 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,296,396.84. This represents a 18.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,401,785 shares of company stock worth $38,149,659 in the last ninety days. 23.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aris Water Solutions

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARIS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 216,158 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Aris Water Solutions by 277.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 35,102 shares of the company's stock valued at $592,000 after purchasing an additional 25,790 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Aris Water Solutions by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 662,324 shares of the company's stock worth $11,173,000 after purchasing an additional 80,490 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aris Water Solutions by 66.2% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 21,341 shares of the company's stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 8,499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in Aris Water Solutions during the third quarter valued at approximately $266,000. 39.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.