The York Water Company (NASDAQ:YORW) Short Interest Down 20.9% in December

The York Water Company (NASDAQ:YORW) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 431,402 shares, a decline of 20.9% from the December 15th total of 545,373 shares. Currently, 3.0% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 78,368 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.5 days. Based on an average trading volume of 78,368 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.5 days. Currently, 3.0% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of York Water in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded York Water from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, York Water has an average rating of “Hold”.

York Water Stock Performance

NASDAQ:YORW opened at $33.94 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $490.09 million, a P/E ratio of 24.42 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $32.56 and a 200-day moving average of $31.62. York Water has a 1 year low of $29.68 and a 1 year high of $36.48.

York Water (NASDAQ:YORW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $20.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.00 million. York Water had a return on equity of 8.56% and a net margin of 26.06%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that York Water will post 1.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

York Water Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were issued a $0.228 dividend. This is a positive change from York Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. York Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.47%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of York Water by 46.1% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 379,692 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,550,000 after buying an additional 119,809 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of York Water by 1.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 353,661 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,178,000 after purchasing an additional 4,965 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of York Water by 7.8% in the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 202,962 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,174,000 after purchasing an additional 14,680 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in York Water by 204.6% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 194,436 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,915,000 after purchasing an additional 130,613 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in York Water by 66.1% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 131,581 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,003,000 after buying an additional 52,376 shares during the period. 49.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

York Water Company Profile

York Water Company (NASDAQ: YORW) is an investor-owned regulated water utility headquartered in York, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1816, it is the oldest publicly traded water utility in the United States. The company’s principal operations involve the collection, treatment and distribution of potable water to residential, commercial and industrial customers under rate schedules approved by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.

York Water Company’s service territory covers portions of south-central Pennsylvania, including York County and neighboring Adams and Franklin counties.