Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Reasons to Add Consolidated Water (CWCO) to Your Portfolio

Read MoreHide Full Article

Consolidated Water Company’s (CWCO - Free Report) usage of advanced technology in water treatment plants, strategic acquisitions and an expansion of operations in areas that have significant requirements for potable water are likely to drive its performance over the long term.

Let’s focus on the factors that make this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock a strong investment pick at the moment. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Growth Projection & Surprise History

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Consolidated Water’s 2022 earnings has moved up by 26.4% in the past 60 days to 67 cents per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2023 earnings has moved up by 5.4% in the past 60 days to 78 cents per share.

CWCO’s long-term (three to five years) earnings growth is projected at 8.0%.

Consolidated Water delivered an average earnings surprise of 36.51% in the last four quarters.

Organic Growth & Acquisitions

Consolidated Water utilizes the reverse osmosis technology, one of the most advanced technologies to convert seawater to potable water, across all water treatment plants to meet the needs of customers. Consolidated Water already has 11 desalination plants in operation in California and aims to add 10 more to meet the increasing demand.

Consolidated Water aims to expand operations in complementary service industries via joint ventures, strategic alliances and acquisitions. It acquired 100% interest in Aerex Industries, Inc., a U.S. original equipment manufacturer and service provider of municipal water along with industrial water treatment.

Revival of Tourism Industry

Consolidated Water continues to observe a gradual recovery in the tourism industry. The return of tourism to the Cayman Islands has been beneficial for CWCO through the Phase 5 reopening plan. Several major airlines resumed their flights and cruise ships back to the islands. The ongoing revival in tourism activities is going to create fresh demand for water and boost the performance of the company.

Debt Position

The Debt to Capital of Consolidated Water at the end of the first quarter of 2022 was 0.1% compared with the industry average of 46%. This indicates that the company is using comparatively lower debts to manage the business compared with peers.

Price Performance

In the past six months, Consolidated Water’s stock has surged 21.0% against the industry’s decline of 22.2%.

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Other Stocks to Consider

Some other similar-ranked stocks from the same sector include Eversource Energy (ES - Free Report) , American Electric Power (AEP - Free Report) and American Water Works (AWK - Free Report) .

The long-term earnings growth of Eversource Energy, American Electric Power and American Water Works is projected at 6.2%, 6.2% and 8.1%, respectively.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2022 earnings per share of Eversource Energy, American Electric Power and American Water Works has moved up 6.5%, 5.7% and 4.9%, respectively, year over year.

ES, AEP and AWK delivered an average earnings surprise of 0.1%, 2.4% and 5.3%, respectively, in the last four quarters.

Published in