Global Water Resources (NASDAQ:GWRS) Stock Price Crosses Below 50 Day Moving Average - What's Next?

Key Points

• Price action: Shares fell below their 50‑day moving average of $8.03, trading as low as $7.26 and last at $7.33 on volume of 76,532, with the 200‑day MA at $8.75.
• Analysts & results: Recent downgrades (Weiss to Sell; Freedom Capital to Hold) leave a MarketBeat consensus of "Reduce" with a $15 price target, after the company missed quarterly EPS ($-0.01 vs. $0.04 est.) and slightly missed revenue.
• Dividend & insider activity: The firm declared a monthly dividend (annualized yield ~4.1%) despite a 300% payout ratio, and Director Andrew M. Cohn purchased 18,305 shares at about $7.20 while insiders own 53.7% of the stock.

Global Water Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ:GWRS - Get Free Report)'s stock price crossed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $8.03 and traded as low as $7.26. Global Water Resources shares last traded at $7.33, with a volume of 76,532 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Global Water Resources from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Freedom Capital lowered Global Water Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $15.00.

Global Water Resources Stock Up 0.5%

The firm has a market cap of $210.81 million, a P/E ratio of 73.31 and a beta of 1.04. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $8.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Global Water Resources (NASDAQ:GWRS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The utilities provider reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.04 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $13.54 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.73 million. Global Water Resources had a net margin of 5.30% and a return on equity of 4.73%. Research analysts anticipate that Global Water Resources, Inc. will post 0.06 EPS for the current year.

Global Water Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.0253 per share. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 16th. Global Water Resources's payout ratio is 300.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Global Water Resources news, Director Andrew M. Cohn purchased 18,305 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $7.20 per share, for a total transaction of $131,796.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 2,560,984 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,439,084.80. This trade represents a 0.72% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 53.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Global Water Resources

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Global Water Resources by 75,025.0% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,005 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 3,001 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Global Water Resources by 152.6% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,461 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 2,091 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in Global Water Resources by 258.9% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,898 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,812 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Global Water Resources by 120.9% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,753 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 2,601 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Global Water Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $84,000. 27.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.