Global Water Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ:GWRS) to Issue Monthly Dividend of $0.03

Global Water Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ:GWRS) declared a monthly dividend on Thursday, March 28th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 16th will be paid a dividend of 0.025 per share by the utilities provider on Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 15th.

Global Water Resources has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 1.9% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 6 consecutive years. Global Water Resources has a payout ratio of 88.2% indicating that its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings tumble. Research analysts expect Global Water Resources to earn $0.34 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.30 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 88.2%.

Global Water Resources Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of GWRS opened at $12.20 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $294.87 million, a P/E ratio of 36.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.97. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $12.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.91. Global Water Resources has a twelve month low of $9.34 and a twelve month high of $13.43.

Global Water Resources (NASDAQ:GWRS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.02. Global Water Resources had a return on equity of 13.64% and a net margin of 15.05%. The firm had revenue of $12.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.04 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Global Water Resources will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Global Water Resources

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Global Water Resources by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 669,319 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,755,000 after acquiring an additional 12,575 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Global Water Resources by 0.7% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 295,047 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,898,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Global Water Resources by 6.9% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 237,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,955,000 after acquiring an additional 15,251 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its stake in shares of Global Water Resources by 3.0% during the second quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 220,139 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,791,000 after acquiring an additional 6,433 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Global Water Resources by 0.7% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 217,294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,755,000 after acquiring an additional 1,490 shares in the last quarter. 27.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.