York Water (NASDAQ:YORW) Lowered to “Sell” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of York Water (NASDAQ:YORW) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Saturday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of York Water in a report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

York Water Stock Performance

Shares of YORW stock opened at $31.81 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $32.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $459.34 million, a PE ratio of 22.89 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. York Water has a 52 week low of $29.68 and a 52 week high of $36.48.

York Water (NASDAQ:YORW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.05. York Water had a return on equity of 8.56% and a net margin of 26.06%.The business had revenue of $20.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.00 million. On average, research analysts predict that York Water will post 1.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

York Water Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a $0.228 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $0.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. York Water’s dividend payout ratio is 65.47%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On York Water

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in York Water by 46.1% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 379,692 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,550,000 after purchasing an additional 119,809 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of York Water by 1.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 353,661 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,178,000 after buying an additional 4,965 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of York Water by 7.8% during the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 202,962 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,174,000 after buying an additional 14,680 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of York Water by 204.6% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 194,436 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,915,000 after buying an additional 130,613 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP increased its position in York Water by 66.1% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 131,581 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,003,000 after acquiring an additional 52,376 shares during the period. 49.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About York Water

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.