Insider Buying: Global Water Resources (NASDAQ:GWRS) Director Buys 154,026 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Director Andrew Cohn of Global Water Resources purchased 154,026 shares at an average price of $10.30, increasing his total holdings to over 2.5 million shares.
• The company announced a dividend of $0.0253 to be paid on October 31st, with an ex-dividend date of October 17th, representing a significant dividend yield of 295.0%.
• Global Water Resources' recent earnings report met consensus estimates with $0.06 earnings per share and revenues slightly exceeding expectations at $14.24 million.

Global Water Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ:GWRS - Get Free Report) Director Andrew Cohn bought 154,026 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $10.30 per share, for a total transaction of $1,586,467.80. Following the purchase, the director owned 2,540,908 shares in the company, valued at $26,171,352.40. This represents a 6.45% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Global Water Resources Trading Up 5.3%

GWRS stock traded up $0.54 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $10.76. The company had a trading volume of 198,405 shares, compared to its average volume of 48,628. The company has a market capitalization of $295.61 million, a PE ratio of 49.03 and a beta of 1.06. Global Water Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $9.27 and a 12 month high of $13.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $9.85 and a 200 day moving average of $10.14.

Global Water Resources (NASDAQ:GWRS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.06. The firm had revenue of $14.24 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.20 million. Global Water Resources had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 9.67%. On average, equities analysts predict 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 announced a oct 25 dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 17th will be given a $0.0253 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 295.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 17th. Global Water Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 136.36%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Water Resources

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GWRS. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Global Water Resources by 61.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 24,539 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 9,370 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Global Water Resources by 87.8% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 27,067 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $311,000 after buying an additional 12,654 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew 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 purchasing an additional 1,884 shares during the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Global Water Resources by 98.4% in the first quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 61,500 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $634,000 after buying an additional 30,500 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in shares of Global Water Resources by 11.3% in the 1st quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 1,525,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $15,723,000 after purchasing an additional 155,000 shares in the last quarter. 27.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on GWRS. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Global Water Resources in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Global Water Resources from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold".

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.