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) 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 $1.59, increasing 3.9% in the past 90 days.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current year sales is pinned at $70 million, indicating year-over-year growth of 16.5%.
YORW delivered an average earnings surprise of 6.72% in the last four quarters.
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 its 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 Aug 2023, resulting in an annual payout of 81 cents per share. This is the 611th 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 2.12%, better than the Zacks S&P 500 Composite’s 1.71%.
Return on Equity (ROE)
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.
Price Performance
In the past month, shares of YORW have gained 5.9% compared with the broader industry’s 9.2% growth.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Other Stocks to Consider
A few other top-ranked stocks in the same sector are Global Water Resources GWRS, SJW Group SJW and CenterPoint Energy CNP, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Global Water Resources’ long-term (three- to five-year) earnings growth rate is 15%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2023 EPS is pegged at 29 cents, implying a year-over-year improvement of 20.8%.
SJW Group’s dividend yield is 2.3%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SJW Group’s 2023 EPS is pinned at $2.54, implying a year-over-year improvement of 4.9%.
CenterPoint Energy’s long-term earnings growth rate is 7.5%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2023 EPS is pegged at $1.5, implying a year-over-year improvement of 8.7%.
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CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (CNP) : Free Stock Analysis Report
The York Water Company (YORW) : Free Stock Analysis Report
SJW Group (SJW) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Global Water Resources, Inc. (GWRS) : Free Stock Analysis Report