4 Reasons To Add Consolidated Water (CWCO) To Your Portfolio

Estimates for Consolidated Water Co. (NASDAQ:CWCO) have been revised upward over the past 90 days, reflecting analysts’ confidence in the stock. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2018 and 2019 earnings has moved 21.3% and 8.8% north to 74 cents and 74 cents per share, respectively.

Consolidated Water, along with its subsidiaries, is involved in the development and operation of seawater desalination plants and water distribution systems in areas where naturally occurring supplies of potable water are scarce or nonexistent.

Let’s focus on the factors that make Consolidated Water an attractive stock at the moment.

Growth Projections

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2018 earnings per share is pegged at 74 cents, reflecting a year-over-year improvement of 51%. Its long-term earnings growth rate is pegged at 8%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2018 revenues is pegged at $66 million, reflecting a year-over-year improvement of nearly 6.0%.

Price Appreciation

Over the past year, the Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock has gained 3% against its industry’s decline of 1%.

VGM Score

The stock has an impressive VGM Score of B. Here V stands for Value, G for Growth and M for Momentum, with the score being a weighted combination of all the three factors. Back-tested results show that stocks with a favorable VGM Score of A or B coupled with a solid Zacks Rank offer the best investment options.

Seawater Desalination Plant in Mexico

The company is presently developing a 100-million gallon per day seawater desalination plant and pipelines in Rosarito, Mexico. This project, on completion, will provide opportunity to export water to the United States under long-term contracts, further driving the performance of the company.

Other Key Picks

Other top-ranked stocks in the same sector include Middlesex Water Company (NASDAQ:MSEX) , American States Water Company (NYSE:AWR) and Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE) . While Middlesex Water sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), American States Water and Ameren both carry a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Earnings estimates for Middlesex Water, American States Water and Ameren have moved up 6.5%, 0.6% and 4.4%, respectively, over the past 90 days. All the stocks have outperformed the industry in a year’s time.

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