Sharon L. Jones, a director at Fuel Tech , Inc. (NASDAQ:FTEK), recently increased her stake in the company through a series of stock purchases. According to a recent SEC filing, Jones acquired a total of 25,800 shares over three consecutive days from November 12 to November 14. The shares were purchased at prices ranging from $1.02 to $1.05 per share, resulting in a total investment of $26,733.
Following these transactions, Jones now holds approximately 74,585 shares in Fuel Tech. The purchases reflect Jones's continued confidence in the company's prospects and align with her ongoing role as a director. Fuel Tech, based in Warrenville, Illinois, specializes in air pollution control and fuel efficiency improvement technologies.
In other recent news, Fuel Tech Inc. reported its third quarter financial results for 2024, noting a slight decline in revenue from $8 million in Q3 2023 to $7.9 million in Q3 2024. Despite this decrease, the company returned to profitability, largely due to the robust performance of its Chemical Technologies segment, primarily from coal-fired utilities. However, the Air Pollution Control (APC) segment experienced a decrease due to project delays. Fuel Tech maintains a strong financial position with $31 million in cash and no debt, and anticipates new orders in the coming year.
The company's FUEL CHEM segment revenue grew by 8% year-over-year, with a new commercial account expected to generate $1.5 million to $2 million annually. Fuel Tech also announced $2 million in new ATC orders and expects an additional $2 million to $4 million by early 2025. The DGI initiative is gaining traction, with a demonstration agreement for aquaculture set to commence in early 2025.
Despite these positive developments, the company's consolidated gross margin decreased to 43% from 45% the previous year, largely due to a decrease in APC segment margins. The company expects total revenues for 2024 to be between $25 million and $26 million. These are some of the recent developments in Fuel Tech's business operations.
InvestingPro Insights
Sharon L. Jones's recent stock purchases in Fuel Tech, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTEK) come at a time when the company's financial metrics paint an interesting picture. According to InvestingPro data, Fuel Tech's market capitalization stands at $31.63 million, with a price-to-book ratio of 0.72 as of the last twelve months ending Q3 2024. This relatively low valuation multiple could be one of the factors influencing Jones's decision to increase her stake.
InvestingPro Tips highlight that Fuel Tech holds more cash than debt on its balance sheet, which is a positive sign for the company's financial health. This strong liquidity position is further supported by the fact that the company's liquid assets exceed its short-term obligations. These factors may contribute to Jones's confidence in the company's financial stability.
However, it's worth noting that Fuel Tech is not currently profitable, with a negative operating income of $3.39 million over the last twelve months. The company's revenue growth has also been negative, with a 5.63% decline over the same period. These challenges may explain why the stock is trading at a low revenue valuation multiple, as pointed out by another InvestingPro Tip.
For investors interested in a more comprehensive analysis, InvestingPro offers additional tips and insights beyond what's mentioned here. In fact, there are 7 more InvestingPro Tips available for Fuel Tech, which could provide valuable context for understanding Jones's investment decision and the company's overall prospects.
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