Just for fun, I recently searched for stocks that had fallen 10% or more from their 52-week highs, thinking that some of them may have declined due to market factors that didn’t reflect the company’s potential, asserts Nancy Zambell, editor of Cabot Stock of the Month.
Unbelievably, I came up with a total of 7,015 stocks out of my database of 8,377 stocks! I narrowed my search again, looking for companies with positive institutional transactions, positive insider transactions, and technical and analyst ratings of Strong Buy. The result: 6 names, which I then winnowed down to what I think is the best one for 2023.
The company is a utility, The York Water Company (YORW). York Water will be 207 years old in 2023 — the oldest water business in the U.S. The company was founded by local businessmen who were worried about fire protection,
Although 71% of the Earth’s surface is covered in water, only half a percent is drinkable. And with a global population of more than 8 billion (and growing!), water is a ‘hot’ commodity.
York impounds, purifies, and distributes drinking water, serving customers in the fixtures and furniture, electrical machinery, food products, paper, ordnance units, textile products, air conditioning systems, laundry detergents, barbells, and motorcycle industries 51 municipalities within three counties in south-central Pennsylvania.
The company posted Q3 EPS of $0.40, topping analysts’ estimates by $0.02. Revenue rose 9%, to $15.81 million, also beating analyst’s estimates by $0.81 million. In the last four quarters, York Water has met analysts’ earnings estimates once and beaten them the remaining three periods.
Institutions own abut 48% of the outstanding shares of York Water, and hedge funds have recently increased their ownership of the stock. York pays a dividend yield of 1.79%, and the company has the longest record of consecutive dividends since 1816.
For a steady company with an essential product, growing earnings, and a consistent dividend, York Water should be on your shopping list for 2023.
