Insider Buying: Global Water Resources (NASDAQ:GWRS) COO Buys 5,389 Shares of Stock

Global Water Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ:GWRS) COO Christopher Krygier purchased 5,389 shares of Global Water Resources stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $6.87 per share, for a total transaction of $37,022.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 10,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $72,031.95. This represents a 105.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Global Water Resources Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of GWRS traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $6.95. 81,201 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 76,050. The firm has a market cap of $199.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 99.21 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.33. Global Water Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $6.55 and a 12-month high of $11.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59.

Global Water Resources (NASDAQ:GWRS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The utilities provider reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.01. The company had revenue of $13.29 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.09 million. Global Water Resources had a net margin of 3.53% and a return on equity of 3.53%. Sell-side analysts expect that Global Water Resources, Inc. will post 0.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Water Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $0.0253 dividend. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Global Water Resources’s payout ratio is 428.57%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Water Resources

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Global Water Resources by 75,025.0% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,005 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 3,001 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Global Water Resources by 152.6% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,461 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 2,091 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in Global Water Resources by 258.9% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,898 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 2,812 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Global Water Resources by 120.9% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,753 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 2,601 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Global Water Resources in the fourth quarter worth about $84,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on GWRS shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Global Water Resources from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Freedom Capital lowered shares of Global Water Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Global Water Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $15.00.

Global Water Resources Company Profile

Global Water Resources, Inc (NASDAQ:GWRS) is a publicly traded holding company based in Scottsdale, Arizona, specializing in the ownership and management of water and wastewater utilities. The company provides critical potable water delivery, wastewater collection and treatment, and reclaimed water services to residential, commercial and industrial customers across select communities in Central and Southern Arizona.

The company operates multiple regulated utility systems, serving communities such as Anthem, Biltmore, Florence and San Tan Valley.