Consolidated Water Co. Ltd.’s CWCO use of Reverse Osmosis, one of the most advanced water purification technologies to convert seawater to potable water at all water treatment plants, boosts its performance. Given its growth opportunities, CWCO makes for a solid investment option in the utility sector.

Let’s focus on the factors that make this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company a strong investment pick at the moment.

CWCO’s Growth Projections & Surprise History

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 earnings per share (EPS) has moved up 0.7% in the past 90 days to $1.40.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 sales is pinned at $149.90 million, indicating a year-over-year increase of 7.9%.

Consolidated Water’s long-term (three to five years) earnings growth rate is 8%. It delivered an average earnings surprise of 2% in the past four quarters.

CWCO’s Return on Equity

Return on equity (ROE) indicates how efficiently a company has been utilizing the funds to generate returns. Currently, the company’s ROE is 12.98%, higher than the sector’s average of 9.86%. This indicates that Consolidated Water has been utilizing the funds more constructively than its peers in the utility sector.

Debt Position & Liquidity of CWCO

Currently, Consolidated Water’s total debt to capital is 0.11%, much better than the industry’s average of 47.49%.

The current ratio is 7.66, much higher than the industry’s average of 0.9. The ratio, being greater than one, indicates the company’s ability to meet its future short-term liabilities without difficulties.

CWCO’s Dividend History

Consolidated Water has been consistently paying dividends since 1997 and increasing shareholders’ value. Currently, its quarterly dividend is 11 cents per share. This resulted in an annualized dividend of 44 cents per share, 15.8% higher than the previous figure of 34 cents. The company’s current dividend yield is 1.63%, better than the Zacks S&P 500 composite's 1.24%.

CWCO’s Stock Price Performance

In the past three months, the company returned 5.1% compared with the industry’s average 3.3% growth.

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Other Stocks to Consider

A few other top-ranked stocks from the same sector are American Water Works AWK, Exelon Corporation EXC and NiSource NI, each holding a Zacks Rank #2 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

AWK’s long-term earnings growth rate is 8.3%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 EPS is pegged at $5.71, indicating a year-over-year improvement of 5.9%.

EXC’s long-term earnings growth rate is 5.7%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 EPS is pinned at $2.63, indicating year-over-year growth of 5.2%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NI’s 2025 EPS is pinned at $1.91, indicating year-over-year growth of 9.1%. The company delivered an average earnings surprise of 23% in the past four quarters.

 

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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