Handelsbanken Fonder AB Boosts Holdings in Global Water Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ:GWRS)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in shares of Global Water Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ:GWRS) by 11.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,525,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 155,000 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned about 5.64% of Global Water Resources worth $15,723,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Global Water Resources by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 256,552 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,950,000 after buying an additional 7,186 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted 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 worth $2,429,000 after purchasing an additional 1,130 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted 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 worth $1,475,000 after purchasing an additional 7,317 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Global Water Resources by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 96,579 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,111,000 after purchasing an additional 5,480 shares during the period. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its position in Global Water Resources by 98.4% during the first quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 61,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $634,000 after purchasing an additional 30,500 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.91% of the company’s stock.

Global Water Resources Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GWRS opened at $10.66 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $292.63 million, a PE ratio of 39.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.04. Global Water Resources, Inc. has a twelve month low of $9.37 and a twelve month high of $13.98. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $10.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.14.

Global Water Resources (NASDAQ:GWRS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 14th. The utilities provider reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02. Global Water Resources had a net margin of 12.52% and a return on equity of 14.23%. The company had revenue of $12.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.00 million. Equities analysts forecast that Global Water Resources, Inc. will post 0.28 EPS for the current year.

Global Water Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a jun 25 dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.0253 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a dividend yield of 3%. Global Water Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 130.43%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Andrew M. Cohn acquired 252,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $10.00 per share, for a total transaction of $2,520,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,379,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,798,990. The trade was a 11.84% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 54.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.