Global Water Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ:GWRS) Declares Monthly Dividend of $0.03

Global Water Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ:GWRS) announced a monthly dividend on Thursday, March 28th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 16th will be given a dividend of 0.025 per share by the utilities provider on Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 15th.

Global Water Resources has decreased its dividend by an average of 1.9% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 6 consecutive years. Global Water Resources has a payout ratio of 88.2% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings fall. Equities research analysts expect Global Water Resources to earn $0.34 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.30 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 88.2%.

Global Water Resources Price Performance

Global Water Resources stock opened at $12.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $310.34 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.91, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.98. Global Water Resources has a 1 year low of $9.34 and a 1 year high of $13.43. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $12.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.75.

Global Water Resources (NASDAQ:GWRS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $12.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.00 million. Global Water Resources had a return on equity of 13.64% and a net margin of 15.05%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.04 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Global Water Resources will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Water Resources

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Global Water Resources by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 669,319 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,755,000 after acquiring an additional 12,575 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Global Water Resources by 0.7% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 295,047 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,898,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Global Water Resources by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 237,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,955,000 after acquiring an additional 15,251 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in shares of Global Water Resources by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 220,139 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,791,000 after purchasing an additional 6,433 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Global Water Resources by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 217,294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,755,000 after purchasing an additional 1,490 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.91% of the company’s stock.

Global Water Resources Company Profile

Global Water Resources, Inc, a water resource management company, owns, operates, and manages regulated water, wastewater, and recycled water systems primarily in metropolitan Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona. It serves approximately 82,000 people in approximately 32,000 homes. The company was founded in 2003 and is based in Phoenix, Arizona.