Consolidated Water (NASDAQ:CWCO) Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Consolidated Water from a "hold" to a "buy," though other brokers have recently downgraded the stock and the consensus rating remains Hold with a $40 target.
• The company missed Q1 estimates, reporting $0.18 EPS vs. $0.28 expected and $29.65M revenue vs. $35.5M expected, and the stock trades around $33.72, below its 50- and 200-day moving averages.
• Director Maria Elena Giner bought 3,310 shares at $30.24, and institutional investors now own about 55% of the company.

Consolidated Water (NASDAQ:CWCO - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on CWCO. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Consolidated Water from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Consolidated Water from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $40.00.

Consolidated Water Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of CWCO stock opened at $33.72 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $34.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.25. Consolidated Water has a twelve month low of $22.69 and a twelve month high of $39.12. The company has a market capitalization of $539.52 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.76 and a beta of 0.56.

Consolidated Water (NASDAQ:CWCO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 17th. The utilities provider reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.10). Consolidated Water had a net margin of 13.88% and a return on equity of 8.39%. The firm had revenue of $29.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.50 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Consolidated Water will post 1.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Consolidated Water

In related news, Director Maria Elena Giner acquired 3,310 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was bought at an average price of $30.24 per share, with a total value of $100,094.40. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 3,310 shares in the company, valued at $100,094.40. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 6.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CWCO. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in Consolidated Water by 1,467.3% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 768 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 719 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Consolidated Water in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Consolidated Water in the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in Consolidated Water by 335.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,512 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 1,165 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Consolidated Water by 67.5% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,045 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 824 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.16% of the company's stock.

About Consolidated Water

Consolidated Water Co Ltd. is a developer, operator and manufacturer of water treatment and desalination systems. The company designs, engineers, builds and operates reverse-osmosis desalination plants and water treatment facilities, offering both turnkey project delivery and ongoing operations and maintenance services. Its product portfolio includes modular desalination units, water distribution systems, filtration membranes and associated equipment for potable water production.

Consolidated Water serves municipalities, resorts, commercial enterprises and private customers in the Caribbean and the southeastern United States.

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