Reasons to Add The York Water (YORW) to Your Portfolio Now
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) company 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 $1.59, increasing 3.9% in the last 60 days. YORW’s 2024 EPS is pinned at $1.61, increasing 1.3% in the last 60 days.
The consensus estimate for the current year’s sales is pinned at $70 million, indicating year-over-year growth of 16.5%. The estimate for 2024 sales is pegged at $74 million, reflecting year-over-year growth of 5.7%.
YORW delivered an average earnings surprise of 6.72% in the last four quarters.
Long Dividend History
The utility company has been consistently paying dividends to its shareholders. The York Water declared a quarterly dividend of 21.08 cents per share in Nov 2023, resulting in an annual payout of 84.32 cents per share. The new quarterly dividend reflects an increase of 4% from last year's annual dividend. This is the 612th consecutive dividend to be paid by the company to its shareholders.
The company has increased its dividend for 27 consecutive years. YORW’s current dividend yield is 2.13%, better than its industry’s yield of 2.09%.
Return on Equity
Return on Equity (ROE) indicates how efficiently a company utilizes its funds to generate higher returns. YORW’s ROE is currently 10.76%, higher than the industry’s average of 9.32%, 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 43.5% as of Sep 30, 2023, which is better than the industry’s average of 45.7%.
The times interest earned ratio at the end of third-quarter 2023 was 4.7. The ratio, being greater than one, reflects the company’s ability to meet debt obligations without difficulties.
Price Performance
In the last three months, shares of YORW have gained 5.5% against the broader industry’s 27.5% decline.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Other Stocks to Consider
Other top-ranked stocks in the same industry are American Water Works AWK, SJW Group SJW and Consolidated Water CWCO, each carrying a Zacks Rank of 2 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
American Water Works, SJW Group and Consolidated Water’s last four-quarter average earnings surprise is 6.5%, 20.05% and 61.56%, respectively.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AWK, SJW and CWCO’s EPS reflects year-over-year growth of 7.1%, 11.2% and 224.1% respectively.
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The York Water Company (YORW) : Free Stock Analysis Report
American Water Works Company, Inc. (AWK) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Consolidated Water Co. Ltd. (CWCO) : Free Stock Analysis Report
SJW Group (SJW) : Free Stock Analysis Report
