Global Water Resources (NASDAQ:GWRS) Stock Passes Above Fifty Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Global Water Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ:GWRS)’s stock price crossed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $7.65 and traded as high as $9.24. Global Water Resources shares last traded at $9.13, with a volume of 87,281 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GWRS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Global Water Resources in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Global Water Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Global Water Resources has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $15.00.

Global Water Resources Trading Down 0.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.66. The firm has a market cap of $262.90 million, a P/E ratio of 83.01 and a beta of 0.91.

Global Water Resources (NASDAQ:GWRS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.01. Global Water Resources had a return on equity of 3.05% and a net margin of 5.22%.The firm had revenue of $17.77 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.93 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Global Water Resources, Inc. will post 0.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Water Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.0253 per share. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Global Water Resources’s payout ratio is 272.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Global Water Resources news, Director Andrew M. Cohn acquired 139,343 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $8.85 per share, for a total transaction of $1,233,185.55. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 2,701,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,906,947.50. This represents a 5.44% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 53.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Global Water Resources

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. TSP Capital Management Group LLC lifted its position in Global Water Resources by 56.0% in the 1st quarter. TSP Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,182,144 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,972,000 after acquiring an additional 424,438 shares in the last quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Global Water Resources by 21.1% in the first quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 831,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,308,000 after purchasing an additional 144,600 shares during the last quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. lifted its holdings in shares of Global Water Resources by 36.5% in the first quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 415,448 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,153,000 after purchasing an additional 111,000 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Global Water Resources by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 312,753 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,643,000 after purchasing an additional 10,076 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Global Water Resources by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 240,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,029,000 after purchasing an additional 7,922 shares in the last quarter. 27.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Global Water Resources

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.