Global Water Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ:GWRS) Short Interest Down 13.3% in February

Global Water Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ:GWRS) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 211,080 shares, a decrease of 13.3% from the February 12th total of 243,558 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 48,408 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.4 days. Approximately 1.6% of the company’s shares are short sold. Approximately 1.6% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 48,408 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.4 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on GWRS shares. Weiss Ratings lowered Global Water Resources from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Freedom Capital lowered Global Water Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Roth Mkm set a $15.00 target price on Global Water Resources in a research note on Monday, November 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $15.00.

Global Water Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GWRS traded down $0.04 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $7.51. The company had a trading volume of 149,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 72,603. Global Water Resources has a 12 month low of $7.12 and a 12 month high of $11.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $215.84 million, a P/E ratio of 75.57 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.18.

Global Water Resources (NASDAQ:GWRS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The utilities provider reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $13.73 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Global Water Resources will post 0.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Water Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be paid a $0.0253 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Global Water Resources’s payout ratio is currently 300.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Andrew M. Cohn bought 18,305 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $7.20 per share, with a total value of $131,796.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 2,560,984 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,439,084.80. This represents a 0.72% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 54.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Water Resources

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Global Water Resources by 20.1% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 103,024 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,062,000 after acquiring an additional 17,257 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in Global Water Resources in the 1st quarter worth $109,000. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in Global Water Resources by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 17,595 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Global Water Resources by 10.3% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 299,330 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,050,000 after purchasing an additional 27,850 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey acquired a new stake in shares of Global Water Resources in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 27.91% of the stock is 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.