First Manhattan CO. LLC. Trims Position in Consolidated Water Co. Ltd. $CWCO

Key Points

• First Manhattan CO. LLC. reduced its stake in Consolidated Water Co. Ltd. by 3.3% during the first quarter, bringing its total position to $7.21 million, which represents 1.85% of the company.
• Consolidated Water recently reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.32 for the quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates of $0.20, with a revenue of $33.59 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share, reflecting a 1.7% annualized yield and a payout ratio of 34.57%.

First Manhattan CO. LLC. cut its stake in shares of Consolidated Water Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ:CWCO - Free Report) by 3.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 294,466 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 10,181 shares during the period. First Manhattan CO. LLC. owned about 1.85% of Consolidated Water worth $7,211,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. State of Wyoming raised its stake in shares of Consolidated Water by 23.9% during the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 10,611 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 2,048 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P increased its holdings in Consolidated Water by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 25,798 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $632,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Consolidated Water by 12.6% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 11,278 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $276,000 after acquiring an additional 1,259 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Consolidated Water by 22.2% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 8,435 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $207,000 after acquiring an additional 1,530 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Consolidated Water in the 1st quarter worth about $300,000. 55.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Consolidated Water Trading Up 0.7%

CWCO stock traded up $0.25 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $33.79. The company had a trading volume of 134,712 shares, compared to its average volume of 108,045. Consolidated Water Co. Ltd. has a 52 week low of $22.69 and a 52 week high of $34.26. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $31.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.83. The stock has a market cap of $538.27 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.86 and a beta of 0.57.

Consolidated Water (NASDAQ:CWCO - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Consolidated Water had a return on equity of 7.77% and a net margin of 12.24%.The firm had revenue of $33.59 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.75 million. Analysts predict that Consolidated Water Co. Ltd. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Consolidated Water Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Consolidated Water's payout ratio is presently 34.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Consolidated Water news, Director Raymond Whittaker sold 4,755 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.35, for a total value of $158,579.25. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,350. The trade was a 82.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.25% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CWCO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Roth Capital lifted their target price on Consolidated Water from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen raised Consolidated Water from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Consolidated Water presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $40.00.

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.