Consolidated Water (NASDAQ:CWCO) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Consolidated Water's stock rating was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from "buy" to "hold," despite having a consensus rating of "buy" and an average price target of $40.00.
• Roth Capital raised its price target for Consolidated Water from $38.00 to $40.00, reflecting confidence in the company amidst mixed analyst ratings.
• Director Raymond Whittaker sold 4,755 shares at an average price of $33.35, significantly reducing his stake in the company by 82.62%.

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

Separately, Roth Capital upped their price target on shares of Consolidated Water from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $40.00.

Consolidated Water Price Performance

NASDAQ:CWCO traded up $0.40 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $34.32. The company had a trading volume of 33,815 shares, compared to its average volume of 122,329. The company has a market capitalization of $546.64 million, a PE ratio of 21.18 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $31.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.27. Consolidated Water has a 52 week low of $22.69 and a 52 week high of $34.58.

Consolidated Water (NASDAQ:CWCO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The utilities provider reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $33.59 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.75 million. Consolidated Water had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 7.77%. Analysts anticipate that Consolidated Water will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Raymond Whittaker sold 4,755 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.35, for a total transaction of $158,579.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $33,350. This trade represents a 82.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 6.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Consolidated Water

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CWCO. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new position in shares of Consolidated Water in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,013,000. Heartland Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Consolidated Water by 146.8% in the first quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 270,100 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,615,000 after buying an additional 160,657 shares in the last quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Consolidated Water in the first quarter valued at approximately $3,687,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Consolidated Water by 18.9% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 637,378 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $19,134,000 after acquiring an additional 101,434 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Consolidated Water in the fourth quarter worth $2,167,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.16% of the company's stock.

Consolidated Water Company Profile

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.