York Water (NASDAQ:YORW) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

The York Water Company (NASDAQ:YORW) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $34.38 and last traded at $34.33, with a volume of 49668 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $33.84.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on YORW. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $31.00 price objective on shares of York Water in a report on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings raised York Water from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.00.

York Water Stock Up 1.5%

The firm has a market cap of $557.34 million, a P/E ratio of 21.33 and a beta of 0.60. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

York Water (NASDAQ:YORW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $23.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.18 million. York Water had a return on equity of 9.38% and a net margin of 28.53%.

York Water Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.228 dividend. This represents a $0.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. York Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.52%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Joseph Thomas Hand sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.28, for a total transaction of $266,240.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 35,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,175,050.24. This represents a 18.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of York Water by 80.8% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 204,036 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,213,000 after purchasing an additional 91,200 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of York Water by 36.2% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 326,730 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,949,000 after purchasing an additional 86,917 shares in the last quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in York Water in the 4th quarter valued at $1,180,000. CenterBook Partners LP grew its position in York Water by 156.1% in the 4th quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 88,060 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,804,000 after purchasing an additional 53,677 shares during the period. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in York Water by 39.2% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 4,458 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $143,000 after purchasing an additional 1,255 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 49.86% of the company’s stock.

About York Water

York Water Company (NASDAQ: YORW) is an investor-owned regulated water utility headquartered in York, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1816, it is the oldest publicly traded water utility in the United States. The company’s principal operations involve the collection, treatment and distribution of potable water to residential, commercial and industrial customers under rate schedules approved by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.

York Water Company’s service territory covers portions of south-central Pennsylvania, including York County and neighboring Adams and Franklin counties.