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

Key Points

• Consolidated Water (NASDAQ:CWCO) has been upgraded from a "hold" to a "buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting positive sentiment from analysts.
• Roth Capital also reissued a "buy" rating with an increased price target of $40.00, up from $38.00, indicating strong growth expectations for the company.
• The stock is currently down 1.1% and trades at approximately $32.37, with a market capitalization of $515.65 million and a PE ratio of 19.98.

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

Separately, Roth Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $40.00 target price (up from $38.00) on shares of Consolidated Water in a research report on Wednesday.

Consolidated Water Stock Down 1.1%

CWCO stock traded down $0.36 during trading on Friday, hitting $32.37. 195,900 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 113,630. The stock has a market capitalization of $515.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.98 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $29.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.18. Consolidated Water has a 52 week low of $22.69 and a 52 week high of $34.26.

Consolidated Water (NASDAQ:CWCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 11th. The utilities provider reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $33.59 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $32.75 million. Consolidated Water had a return on equity of 7.77% and a net margin of 12.24%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Consolidated Water will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Consolidated Water

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Consolidated Water in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,013,000. Heartland Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Consolidated Water by 146.8% during the 1st 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 during the period. Seizert Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Consolidated Water in the first quarter worth $3,687,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Consolidated Water by 18.9% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 637,378 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $19,134,000 after acquiring an additional 101,434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Consolidated Water in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,167,000. 55.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.