North Star Investment Management Corp. Purchases 108,500 Shares of Global Water Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ:GWRS)

North Star Investment Management Corp. increased its holdings in shares of Global Water Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ:GWRS - Free Report) by 46.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 342,593 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 108,500 shares during the quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. owned approximately 1.27% of Global Water Resources worth $3,532,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Gitterman Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Global Water Resources during the fourth quarter valued at about $123,000. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in Global Water Resources by 4,273.8% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 15,002 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $173,000 after buying an additional 14,659 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in shares of Global Water Resources by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 17,595 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $181,000 after buying an additional 1,884 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Global Water Resources by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 20,210 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $232,000 after acquiring an additional 1,327 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Global Water Resources by 61.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 24,539 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $282,000 after acquiring an additional 9,370 shares during the period. 27.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Global Water Resources Price Performance

Shares of GWRS traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $10.44. The stock had a trading volume of 27,756 shares, compared to its average volume of 33,111. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The company has a market capitalization of $286.58 million, a P/E ratio of 45.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.04. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $10.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.05. Global Water Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $9.37 and a 52 week high of $13.98.

Global Water Resources (NASDAQ:GWRS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The utilities provider reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.02. Global Water Resources had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The firm had revenue of $12.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.00 million. On average, analysts forecast that Global Water Resources, Inc. will post 0.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Water Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a jun 25 dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.0253 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a dividend yield of 3%. Global Water Resources's dividend payout ratio is currently 130.43%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Andrew M. Cohn acquired 252,000 shares of Global Water Resources stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $10.00 per share, with a total value of $2,520,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,379,899 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,798,990. This represents a 11.84% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 54.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Global Water Resources from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd.

About Global Water Resources

Global Water Resources, Inc, a water resource management company, owns, operates, and manages regulated water, wastewater, and recycled water systems primarily in metropolitan Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona. It serves approximately 82,000 people in approximately 32,000 homes. The company was founded in 2003 and is based in Phoenix, Arizona.