Global Water Resources (NASDAQ:GWRS) Cut to “Hold” at Freedom Capital

Freedom Capital cut shares of Global Water Resources (NASDAQ:GWRS) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on GWRS. Roth Mkm set a $15.00 price target on shares of Global Water Resources in a report on Monday, November 17th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Global Water Resources from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $15.00.

Global Water Resources Trading Up 4.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:GWRS opened at $8.15 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $234.39 million, a PE ratio of 81.51 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. Global Water Resources has a 12-month low of $7.67 and a 12-month high of $11.84. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $8.76 and a 200 day moving average of $9.28.

Global Water Resources (NASDAQ:GWRS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 4th. The utilities provider reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by ($0.05). Global Water Resources had a return on equity of 4.73% and a net margin of 5.30%.The company had revenue of $13.54 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.73 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Global Water Resources will post 0.28 EPS for the current year.

Global Water Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.0253 per share. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. Global Water Resources’s payout ratio is currently 300.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Global Water Resources

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GWRS. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP acquired a new position in shares of Global Water Resources in the 4th quarter valued at $107,000. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new stake in Global Water Resources during the 4th quarter valued at about $153,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Global Water Resources in the fourth quarter valued at about $84,000. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in shares of Global Water Resources in the fourth quarter valued at about $144,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Global Water Resources by 82.1% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 27,492 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 12,393 shares during the last quarter. 27.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.