Global Water Resources (NASDAQ:GWRS) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Global Water Resources (NASDAQ:GWRS) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Separately, Weiss Ratings raised Global Water Resources from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating. According to MarketBeat.com, Global Water Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.00.

Global Water Resources Stock Down 3.7%

Global Water Resources stock opened at $7.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.77. Global Water Resources has a one year low of $6.55 and a one year high of $10.15. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $209.81 million, a P/E ratio of 163.00 and a beta of 0.96.

Global Water Resources (NASDAQ:GWRS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.04 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $16.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.00 million. Global Water Resources had a net margin of 3.98% and a return on equity of 2.06%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Global Water Resources will post 0.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Water Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be issued a $0.0253 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Global Water Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 375.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Andrew Cohn bought 139,343 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $8.85 per share, for a total transaction of $1,233,185.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,701,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,906,947.50. This trade represents a 5.44% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 53.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Global Water Resources

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Global Water Resources by 2,898.1% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 186,241 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,481,000 after acquiring an additional 180,029 shares in the last quarter. TSP Capital Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Global Water Resources by 9.8% during the third quarter. TSP Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,471,701 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,700,000 after acquiring an additional 131,396 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Global Water Resources during the second quarter valued at $242,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Global Water Resources during the second quarter valued at $253,000. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its position in Global Water Resources by 4.0% during the second quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 55,785 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $404,000 after purchasing an additional 2,133 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.91% of the company’s stock.

Global Water Resources Company Profile

Global Water Resources, Inc (NASDAQ: GWRS) is a water resource management company that owns and operates regulated water, wastewater and recycled water utilities in Arizona. The company provides essential services to residential, commercial and industrial customers, including the delivery of potable water, collection and treatment of wastewater, and the production and distribution of recycled water.

Global Water Resources serves communities primarily in the Phoenix metropolitan area and other growing areas of central and southern Arizona.