Global Water Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ:GWRS) Declares Monthly Dividend of $0.03

Key Points

• Global Water Resources declared a monthly dividend of $0.0253 per share (approximately $0.30 annualized), payable September 30 to shareholders of record on September 16, implying a 3.3% yield.
• The dividend appears financially stretched: the company has a 107.1% payout ratio, while analysts expect a future payout ratio of roughly 230.8% based on projected earnings.
• Global Water Resources exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $0.04 in EPS and $17.77 million in revenue; meanwhile, director Andrew M. Cohn purchased 139,343 shares, increasing his stake by 5.44%.

Global Water Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ:GWRS - Get Free Report) declared a monthly dividend on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of 0.0253 per share by the utilities provider on Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 16th.

Global Water Resources has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 8 consecutive years. Global Water Resources has a payout ratio of 107.1% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Analysts expect Global Water Resources to earn $0.13 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $0.30 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 230.8%.

Global Water Resources Price Performance

Shares of GWRS stock traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $9.20. 94,579 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 96,277. Global Water Resources has a fifty-two week low of $6.55 and a fifty-two week high of $11.17. 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 stock's fifty day moving average is $7.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $7.65. The company has a market cap of $264.96 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.64 and a beta of 0.91.

Global Water Resources (NASDAQ:GWRS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.01. Global Water Resources had a net margin of 5.22% and a return on equity of 3.05%. The business had revenue of $17.77 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Global Water Resources will post 0.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Global Water Resources

In other news, Director Andrew M. Cohn acquired 139,343 shares of Global Water Resources stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $8.85 per share, with a total value of $1,233,185.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,701,350 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,906,947.50. This represents a 5.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 53.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Global Water Resources

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GWRS. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Global Water Resources by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 45,186 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $382,000 after buying an additional 1,784 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of Global Water Resources by 12.0% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 17,595 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $181,000 after acquiring an additional 1,884 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of Global Water Resources by 16.5% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 13,440 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $138,000 after acquiring an additional 1,900 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Global Water Resources by 152.6% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,461 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 2,091 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Global Water Resources by 4.0% during the second quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 55,785 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $404,000 after acquiring an additional 2,133 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.91% of the company's stock.

Global Water Resources Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source