Legal & General Group Plc Acquires New Stake in The York Water Company $YORW

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc acquired 321,660 York Water shares worth approximately $9.86 million, giving it a 1.98% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 49.86% of the utility.
• York Water beat quarterly expectations, reporting earnings per share of $0.49 versus the $0.40 consensus estimate and revenue of $23.52 million against estimates of $22.18 million.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with a $31.00 average price target, while the company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.228 per share, equivalent to a 2.7% yield.

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in The York Water Company (NASDAQ:YORW - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 321,660 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $9,859,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned 1.98% of York Water as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of York Water during the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,283,000. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of York Water by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 335,018 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $10,742,000 after purchasing an additional 7,196 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of York Water by 36.2% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 326,730 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,949,000 after buying an additional 86,917 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in York Water by 80.8% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 204,036 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,213,000 after buying an additional 91,200 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in York Water by 79.5% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 154,490 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,919,000 after buying an additional 68,429 shares during the period. 49.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other York Water news, CEO Joseph Thomas Hand sold 8,000 shares of York Water stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.28, for a total value of $266,240.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 35,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,175,050.24. The trade was a 18.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have acquired 85 shares of company stock worth $2,760 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on YORW. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $31.00 target price on shares of York Water in a report on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of York Water from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.00.

York Water Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of YORW opened at $34.08 on Tuesday. The business's 50 day moving average is $31.77 and its 200 day moving average is $31.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The York Water Company has a 12-month low of $28.26 and a 12-month high of $34.81. The company has a market capitalization of $553.12 million, a PE ratio of 21.17 and a beta of 0.60.

York Water (NASDAQ:YORW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $23.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.18 million. York Water had a return on equity of 9.38% and a net margin of 28.53%.

York Water Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.228 per share. This represents a $0.91 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. York Water's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.52%.

York Water Company Profile

York Water Company NASDAQ: YORW is an investor-owned regulated water utility headquartered in York, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1816, it is the oldest publicly traded water utility in the United States. The company's principal operations involve the collection, treatment and distribution of potable water to residential, commercial and industrial customers under rate schedules approved by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.

York Water Company's service territory covers portions of south-central Pennsylvania, including York County and neighboring Adams and Franklin counties.

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