North Star Investment Management Corp. Raises Stock Holdings in Global Water Resources, Inc. $GWRS

North Star Investment Management Corp. boosted its position in Global Water Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ:GWRS) by 36.5% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 415,448 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 111,000 shares during the quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp.’s holdings in Global Water Resources were worth $3,153,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Global Water Resources news, COO Christopher D. Krygier acquired 5,389 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $6.87 per share, with a total value of $37,022.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $72,031.95. This represents a 105.75% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael J. Liebman acquired 7,000 shares of Global Water Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $6.89 per share, with a total value of $48,230.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 7,000 shares in the company, valued at $48,230. This represents a ? increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 53.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Global Water Resources Price Performance

Shares of GWRS opened at $7.26 on Monday. Global Water Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $6.55 and a twelve month high of $11.17. The company has a market capitalization of $208.80 million, a P/E ratio of 103.71 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $7.15 and a 200 day moving average of $7.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59.

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

Global Water Resources Dividend Announcement

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

About Global Water Resources

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.