Global Water Resources (NASDAQ:GWRS) & York Water (NASDAQ:YORW) Head to Head Comparison

York Water (NASDAQ:YORW) and Global Water Resources (NASDAQ:GWRS) are both small-cap utilities companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, risk, dividends, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for York Water and Global Water Resources, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
York Water	0	1	0	0	2.00
Global Water Resources	0	2	0	0	2.00

York Water currently has a consensus target price of $31.00, suggesting a potential downside of 4.16%. Global Water Resources has a consensus target price of $15.00, suggesting a potential upside of 92.11%. Given Global Water Resources’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Global Water Resources is more favorable than York Water.

Volatility & Risk

York Water has a beta of 0.52, meaning that its share price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Global Water Resources has a beta of 0.96, meaning that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares York Water and Global Water Resources’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
York Water	28.53%	9.38%	3.47%
Global Water Resources	3.98%	2.11%	0.37%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

49.9% of York Water shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 27.9% of Global Water Resources shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of York Water shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 53.7% of Global Water Resources shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

York Water pays an annual dividend of $0.91 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Global Water Resources pays an annual dividend of $0.30 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. York Water pays out 56.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Global Water Resources pays out 375.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. York Water has increased its dividend for 27 consecutive years and Global Water Resources has increased its dividend for 8 consecutive years.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares York Water and Global Water Resources”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
York Water	$77.49 million	6.77	$20.06 million	$1.61	20.09
Global Water Resources	$60.11 million	3.74	$2.96 million	$0.08	97.60

York Water has higher revenue and earnings than Global Water Resources. York Water is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Global Water Resources, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

York Water beats Global Water Resources on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About York Water

The York Water Company impounds, purifies, and distributes drinking water. It owns and operates three wastewater collection systems; ten wastewater collection and treatment systems; and two reservoirs, including Lake Williams and Lake Redman, which hold approximately 2.2 billion gallons of water. The company also operates a 15-mile pipeline from the Susquehanna River to Lake Redman; and owns satellite groundwater systems in York, Adams, and Lancaster Counties, as well as two impounding dams on primary system located in York and Springfield Townships. It serves customers in the fixtures and furniture, electrical machinery, food products, paper, ordnance units, textile products, air conditioning systems, laundry detergents, barbells, and motorcycle industries in 56 municipalities within four counties in south-central Pennsylvania. The York Water Company was incorporated in 1816 and is based in York, Pennsylvania.

About Global Water Resources

Global Water Resources, Inc., a water resource management company, owns, operates, and manages regulated water, wastewater, and recycled water systems primarily in metropolitan Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona. It serves approximately 82,000 people in approximately 32,000 homes. The company was founded in 2003 and is based in Phoenix, Arizona.