4 Reasons to Add The York Water (YORW) to Your Portfolio
The York Water Company YORW is a public utility company involved in providing safe, reliable and high-quality water and wastewater services to its customers.
Let’s explore the factors that make this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock a strong investment pick at the moment.
Growth Projections & Surprise History
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for YORW’s 2023 earnings per share (EPS) is pegged at $1.53, increasing 1.3% in the past 60 days.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current year sales stands at $70 million, indicating year-over-year growth of 16.5%.
YORW delivered an average earnings surprise of 4.23% in the last four quarters.
Return on Equity (ROE)
ROE indicates how efficiently a company utilizes its funds to generate higher returns. YORW’s ROE is currently 10.02%, higher than the industry’s average of 9.8%, which indicates that the company is utilizing its funds more efficiently than its peers.
Debt Position
The York Water’s total debt to capital was 42.6% as of Jun 30, 2023, which is better than the industry’s average of 46.3%.
The times interest earned ratio at the end of second-quarter 2023 was 4.83. The ratio, being greater than one, reflects YORW’s ability to meet future debt obligations without difficulties.
Long Dividend History
The utility company has been consistently paying dividends to its shareholders. The York Water declared a quarterly dividend of 20.27 cents per share in May 2023, resulting in an annual payout of 81 cents per share. This is the 610th consecutive dividend to be paid by the company to its shareholders. This indicates 2.5% growth from 2022.
The company increased its dividend five times in the past five years. YORW’s current dividend yield is 2%, better than the Zacks S&P 500 Composite’s 1.67%.
Price Performance
In the past month, shares of YORW have gained 0.2% against the broader industry’s 4.6% decline.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Other Stocks to Consider
A few other top-ranked stocks in the same industry are Consolidated Water Co. Ltd. CWCO, American Water Works Co. Inc. AWK and American States Water Co. AWR. CWCO sports a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while AWK and AWR carry a Zacks Rank #2 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Consolidated Water’s long-term (three-to five-years) earnings growth rate is 8%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2023 EPS is pegged at $1.43, implying a year-over-year improvement of 164.8%.
American Water Works’ long-term earnings growth rate is 8.2%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2023 EPS is pegged at $4.79, implying a year-over-year improvement of 6.2%.
American States Water’s long-term earnings growth rate is 6.3%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2023 EPS is pegged at $2.96, implying a year-over-year improvement of 29.8%.
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The York Water Company (YORW) : Free Stock Analysis Report
American Water Works Company, Inc. (AWK) : Free Stock Analysis Report
American States Water Company (AWR) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Consolidated Water Co. Ltd. (CWCO) : Free Stock Analysis Report
