Updated on March 31st, 2025 by Nathan Parsh
Utilities are very popular among income investors. Their steady revenue and earnings provide a stable base from which the companies can pay excess capital to shareholders. This tends to lead to reasonably high dividend yields and safe payouts, both of which are attractive for investors seeking current income.
Global Water Resources (GWRS) is an Arizona water utility that went public in 2016. Its 3.0% dividend yield qualifies it as a decent income stock when the broader S&P 500 Index yields only 1.3%. In addition, Global Water pays its dividends monthly instead of quarterly.
Global Water Resources is one of only 75 monthly dividend stocks we cover. You can download our full list of monthly dividend stocks (along with price-to-earnings ratios, dividend yields, and payout ratios) by clicking on the link below:
Despite the low current yield, the stock has multiple appealing features. Given the favorable underlying economics of the water industry, Global Water’s outlook for growth is positive.
However, the company’s dividend safety could use improvement. Given this, we are cautious about Global Water’s overall prospects as an investment.
Business Overview
Global Water Resources is a water resource management company. It owns, operates, and manages water, wastewater, and recycled water utilities in Phoenix, Arizona. The company’s strategy is called total water management, which means it wants to own the entire water cycle.
In essence, this means operating water, wastewater, and recycling facilities in the same geographic area to conserve water and maximize the economic value of water by owning the entire life cycle. The company focuses on communities where it expects population growth and where it expects water demand to exceed supply.
Global Water owns 32 water and wastewater utilities in Phoenix and serves more than 82,000 people. It also recycles more than 1 billion gallons of water every year. The company believes it has the capacity for hundreds of thousands of service connections, but its current scale is relatively small.
The company’s annual revenue is about $53 million, and its stock has a market capitalization of ~$282 million.
Source: Investor relations
On March 5th, 2025, Global Water released its Q4 and full-year results for the period ending December 31st, 2024. For the year, revenues decreased by 0.6% year-over-year to $52.7 million, mainly due to no unregulated revenues compared to $2.8 million in unregulated revenue in the prior year. However, regulated revenues did improve by 4.9%, primarily due to organic growth in active water and wastewater connections, increased water and recycled water consumption and higher rates from a general rate case that was effective July 2024.
Earnings per share (EPS) fell to $0.24 from $0.33 in 2023, largely attributed to no unregulated revenue.
Global Water continues to benefit from Arizona’s rapidly growing homeownership market, driving consistent organic growth. The company is also pursuing acquisitions and expects further growth in connections and rates.
Growth Prospects
The strategy behind Global Water’s asset base makes sense; areas with population growth and relatively scarce water supplies should see ever-rising demand for water. Global Water is well-positioned to grow in such areas.
The utility has many tailwinds, including considerable growth in its recycled water deliveries, massive rate increases, and solid population growth in Phoenix.
Its regulated annual revenues have been growing consistently over the years. During the last decade, the company has grown its revenues at a 5.7% average annual rate. Water is an essential commodity, so its consumption is resilient even under the most adverse economic conditions. As a result, Global Water’s revenues should remain resilient during a potential recession, as was the case during the Great Recession.
Source: Investor relations
We expect organic growth contributions from rate increases, which amounts to another low single-digit gain annually, on average. Like other utilities, Global Water is able to pass through approved pricing increases to its customers, which is a steady, long-term tailwind to revenue.
Overall, thanks to material rate hikes and Global Water’s sustained expansion, we expect the utility to grow its earnings per share at an average annual rate of 6.0% over the next five years.
Dividend Analysis
Water stocks are prized for their stable dividends and consistent dividend growth. Global Water has paid a monthly dividend since May of 2016, with a handful of monthly raises from the initial two cents per share.
The current payout is $0.0253 per share monthly or $0.30 per share annually, and it was not affected by the worst of the coronavirus crisis.
This results in a current yield of 3.0%, which is on the lower for a utility stock. In addition, we are concerned about the dividend’s safety, as Global Water’s earnings haven’t covered the dividend in recent years.
Earnings per share for 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 came in at just $0.16, $0.24, $0.33, and $0.24, respectively, whereas the annual dividends were $0.29, $0.30, $0.30, and $0.30 in those years. In other words, Global Water paid out much higher dividends than its earnings during that period. This means the company has a significant shortfall and must fund the payout through other means, including debt and share issuances.
Another feature of Global Water is its dividend growth rate. The company has grown its dividend at a rate of 2.4% over the last five years, which is much lower than the utility sector’s 5-year median dividend growth rate of 5.0%.
We expect Global Water’s earnings per share to total $0.25 in 2025. In such a case, the payout ratio would be above 100% once again. However, thanks to its regulated business and the reliable cash flows resulting from its business model, Global Water can easily borrow funds to support its future dividend. Nevertheless, given the recent years of maintaining a payout ratio well above 100%, the dividend should not be considered entirely safe in the long run.
Final Thoughts
We think Global Water has a positive road ahead regarding earnings growth. Given the multiple sources of organic growth, the company is on a reliable revenue growth trajectory. However, rising interest expenses and maintenance costs are keeping a lid on margins, as they have for years.
With the dividend yield at 3.0%, we see the risk of owning the stock as far outweighing the reward. Despite the merits of receiving dividends on a monthly basis, we do not recommend purchasing Global Water Resources’ stock.
Don’t miss the resources below for more monthly dividend stock investing research.
- The Monthly Dividend Stocks List
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