The York Water Company (NASDAQ:YORW) Short Interest Down 14.8% in October

The York Water Company (NASDAQ:YORW) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 107,900 shares, a drop of 14.8% from the September 30th total of 126,700 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 41,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in YORW. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main purchased a new position in York Water in the second quarter worth about $36,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its position in York Water by 53.9% in the second quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,157 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its position in York Water by 148.2% in the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,211 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 723 shares in the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton purchased a new position in York Water in the third quarter worth about $56,000. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can grew its position in York Water by 49.3% in the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 1,368 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 48.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

YORW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on York Water in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. TheStreet lowered York Water from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 5th.

York Water Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of York Water stock opened at $35.81 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $512.44 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.53 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $38.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. York Water has a twelve month low of $35.25 and a twelve month high of $47.23.

York Water (NASDAQ:YORW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $18.77 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.00 million. York Water had a return on equity of 10.02% and a net margin of 32.06%. Equities research analysts anticipate that York Water will post 1.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

York Water Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 29th were given a dividend of $0.2027 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 28th. This represents a $0.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. York Water’s payout ratio is 55.48%.

About York Water

The York Water Company impounds, purifies, and distributes drinking water. It owns and operates three wastewater collection systems; eight wastewater collection and treatment systems; and two reservoirs, including Lake Williams and Lake Redman, which hold approximately 2.2 billion gallons of water. The company also operates a 15-mile pipeline from the Susquehanna River to Lake Redman; and owns groundwater wells that supply water to customers in the York and Adams Counties.