Consolidated Water Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ:CWCO) to Issue Dividend Increase - $0.14 Per Share

Consolidated Water Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ:CWCO - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, June 2nd, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be paid a dividend of 0.14 per share by the utilities provider on Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. This is a 27.3% increase from Consolidated Water's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11.

Consolidated Water has raised its dividend by an average of 6.4% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 2 years. Consolidated Water has a payout ratio of 27.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Consolidated Water to earn $1.40 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.44 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 31.4%.

Consolidated Water Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of CWCO traded up $0.36 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $27.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 99,379 shares, compared to its average volume of 109,650. The company's 50-day moving average is $24.69 and its 200-day moving average is $25.83. Consolidated Water has a 52-week low of $22.69 and a 52-week high of $29.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $438.20 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.99, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.39.

Consolidated Water (NASDAQ:CWCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.09. Consolidated Water had a net margin of 23.06% and a return on equity of 12.98%. The firm had revenue of $33.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $32.30 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Consolidated Water will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Consolidated Water

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Consolidated Water during the first quarter valued at approximately $130,000. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Consolidated Water in the first quarter worth $230,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Consolidated Water by 6.9% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 12,418 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 798 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Consolidated Water by 41.7% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 46,480 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,138,000 after buying an additional 13,686 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Consolidated Water by 8.3% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 171,037 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,189,000 after buying an additional 13,061 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.16% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Consolidated Water from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd.

About Consolidated Water

Consolidated Water Co Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, designs, constructs, manages, and operates water production and water treatment plants primarily in the Cayman Islands, the Bahamas, and the United States. The company operates through four segments: Retail, Bulk, Services, and Manufacturing.