Handelsbanken Fonder AB Buys 155,000 Shares of Global Water Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ:GWRS)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in shares of Global Water Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ:GWRS) by 11.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,525,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 155,000 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned 0.06% of Global Water Resources worth $15,723,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Global Water Resources by 110.3% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 44,067 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $507,000 after purchasing an additional 23,113 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in Global Water Resources by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 211,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,429,000 after purchasing an additional 1,130 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Global Water Resources by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 20,210 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 1,327 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Global Water Resources by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 128,268 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,475,000 after purchasing an additional 7,317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Global Water Resources by 87.8% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 27,067 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 12,654 shares in the last quarter. 27.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Global Water Resources Trading Down 1.3%

GWRS stock opened at $10.66 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $292.63 million, a PE ratio of 39.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.04. Global Water Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $9.37 and a one year high of $13.98. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $10.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.62.

Global Water Resources (NASDAQ:GWRS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The utilities provider reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.02. The firm had revenue of $12.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.00 million. Global Water Resources had a net margin of 12.52% and a return on equity of 14.23%. As a group, analysts predict that Global Water Resources, Inc. will post 0.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Water Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a jun 25 dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.0253 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Global Water Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 130.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Andrew M. Cohn bought 252,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $10.00 per share, with a total value of $2,520,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,379,899 shares in the company, valued at $23,798,990. This represents a 11.84% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 54.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Global Water Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd.

Global Water Resources Company Profile

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.