North Star Investment Management Corp. Buys 111,000 Shares of Global Water Resources, Inc. $GWRS

North Star Investment Management Corp. lifted its stake in Global Water Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ:GWRS) by 36.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 415,448 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 111,000 shares during the period. North Star Investment Management Corp. owned approximately 1.44% of Global Water Resources worth $3,153,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Global Water Resources by 75,025.0% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,005 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 3,001 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Global Water Resources by 152.6% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,461 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 2,091 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in Global Water Resources by 258.9% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,898 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,812 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Global Water Resources by 120.9% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,753 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 2,601 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Global Water Resources during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $84,000. Institutional investors own 27.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Christopher D. Krygier acquired 5,389 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $6.87 per share, for a total transaction of $37,022.43. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer owned 10,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $72,031.95. This trade represents a 105.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Michael J. Liebman bought 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $6.89 per share, with a total value of $48,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 7,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,230. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 53.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GWRS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Global Water Resources from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. Freedom Capital lowered shares of Global Water Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Global Water Resources in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $15.00.

Global Water Resources Stock Performance

NASDAQ GWRS opened at $7.26 on Monday. Global Water Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $6.55 and a fifty-two week high of $11.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $7.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $7.94. The stock has a market cap of $208.80 million, a P/E ratio of 103.71 and a beta of 0.92.

Global Water Resources (NASDAQ:GWRS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The utilities provider reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $13.29 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.09 million. Global Water Resources had a return on equity of 3.53% and a net margin of 3.53%. On average, analysts forecast that Global Water Resources, Inc. will post 0.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Water Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.0253 per share. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis 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%.

Global Water Resources 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.