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Reasons to Add The York Water (YORW) to Your Portfolio Now

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The York Water Company (YORW - Free Report) is involved in providing safe, reliable and high-quality water and wastewater services to its customers. Its rising earnings estimates, surprise history and strong ROE make it an ideal investment choice in the water utility space.

Let’s explore the factors that are aiding this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company at the moment.

Growth Projections & Surprise History

In the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for YORW's 2025 earnings per share (EPS) has increased 0.6% to $1.69. Its 2024 EPS is pinned at $1.61, which remained unchanged in the past 60 days.

The consensus estimate for current-year sales is pinned at $74 million, indicating growth of 4.2% from the year-ago levels. The estimate for 2025 sales is pegged at $78 million, implying growth of 5.4% from the prior-year reported actuals.

YORW delivered an average earnings surprise of 8.6% in the last four quarters.

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 January 2024, which resulted in an annual payout of 84.32 cents per share. This is the 613th consecutive dividend to be paid by the company to its shareholders. YORW’s current dividend yield is 2.48%, better than the Zacks S&P 500 Composite’s 1.6%.

Return on Equity

Return on Equity (ROE) indicates how efficiently a company utilizes its funds to generate higher returns. YORW’s ROE is currently 11.05%, higher than the industry’s average of 9.66%, which indicates that the company is utilizing its funds more efficiently than its peers.

Debt Position & Solvency

The York Water’s total debt-to-capital was 44.9% as of Dec 31, 2023, better than the industry’s average of 54.6%.

The times interest earned ratio at the end of fourth-quarter 2023 was 4.6. The ratio, being greater than one, reflects the company’s ability to meet debt obligations without difficulties.

Price Performance

In the past three months, shares of YORW have lost 5.3% compared with the broader industry’s 6.5% decline.

 

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Other Stocks to Consider

Some other top-ranked stocks in the same industry are American Water Works (AWK - Free Report) , American States Water (AWR - Free Report) and Global Water Resources (GWRS - Free Report) , 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, American States Water and Global Water Resources  recorded a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 6%, 3.1% and 28.8%, respectively.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AWK, AWR and GWRS’ 2024 EPS implies growth of 6.5%, 5.6% and 19.3%, respectively, from the year-earlier levels.


 

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