Global Water Resources (NASDAQ:GWRS) Stock Price Passes Below 50 Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Global Water Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ:GWRS)’s share price passed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $7.34 and traded as low as $7.22. Global Water Resources shares last traded at $7.24, with a volume of 105,587 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on GWRS shares. Freedom Capital cut shares of Global Water Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Global Water Resources in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Global Water Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $15.00.

Global Water Resources Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $7.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.10. The company has a market capitalization of $208.22 million, a PE ratio of 103.43 and a beta of 0.92.

Global Water Resources (NASDAQ:GWRS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The utilities provider reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.01. The company had revenue of $13.29 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.09 million. Global Water Resources had a net margin of 3.53% and a return on equity of 3.53%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Global Water Resources, Inc. will post 0.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Water Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.0253 per share. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Global Water Resources’s payout ratio is presently 428.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Christopher D. Krygier acquired 5,389 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $6.87 per share, with a total value of $37,022.43. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $72,031.95. This represents a 105.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael J. Liebman acquired 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $6.89 per share, with a total value of $48,230.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,230. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders bought 30,694 shares of company stock valued at $217,048 over the last three months. 53.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Global Water Resources

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GWRS. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Global Water Resources by 20.1% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 103,024 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,062,000 after purchasing an additional 17,257 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Global Water Resources during the first quarter valued at $109,000. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Global Water Resources by 12.0% during 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Global Water Resources by 10.3% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 299,330 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,050,000 after purchasing an additional 27,850 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Global Water Resources by 30.7% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 40,661 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $414,000 after purchasing an additional 9,539 shares during the period. 27.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.