Why York Water Stock Just Sank to a 52-Week Low
Key Points
York Water is issuing new shares, and investors aren't happy with that.
This water giant, however, is a top dividend-paying stock, and is now trading at an attractive price.
- 10 stocks we like better than York Water ›
Why should shares of a company that provides an essential service like water that has nothing to do with geopolitical tensions or global supply chain snarls suddenly fall?
For York Water (NASDAQ: YORW), the answer lies in its latest announcement, which hasn't gone down well with investors. The water stock was trading 5% lower as of 1 p.m. ET Thursday after dropping 8.4% in early trading.
Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue »
Image source: Getty Images.
What's happening with York Water stock?
In a regulatory filing dated April 16, York Water announced plans to issue 1.5 million shares, valued at $43 million.
The company priced its new shares at $28.50 apiece, a considerable discount to the previous day's closing price of $30.84 a share. The new stock issue will also increase York Water's total number of shares outstanding, meaning each existing share will now receive a smaller share of its earnings and dividends.
Investors reacted swiftly to the share dilution and low price, sending York shares to an intraday low of $28.26 per share, as of this writing. That price point also marks a new 52-week low for York Water stock, which has fallen nearly 18% over one past year.
Is York Water a good stock to buy now?
Utility stocks are sensitive to share issues and interest rates, which pretty much explains why York Water stock has significantly underperformed in the past one year. However, I believe the stock is now offering a rare opportunity to buy shares of an essential services company at a significant discount. This chart shows the disconnect between the company's operational performance in the last five years and its stock performance.
YORW data by YCharts
A share dilution isn't always bad, nor does it necessarily change a company's fundamentals. York Water plans to use the proceeds from the share sale for a variety of purposes, including investing in infrastructure, acquisitions, and reducing debt. Regulated utilities require large amounts of money to invest in critical infrastructure, and it's not unusual for them to raise funds through debt or equity.
York Water has been serving water and wastewater customers across 58 municipalities in Southcentral Pennsylvania since 1816. It has paid a dividend every year for 210 consecutive years. That's the longest dividend streak among all the publicly listed companies in the U.S. York Water has also raised its dividends regularly, including an annualized 4% growth in the last eight years.
Should you buy stock in York Water right now?
Before you buy stock in York Water, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and York Water wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $580,872!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,219,180!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,016% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 197% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
See the 10 stocks »
*Stock Advisor returns as of April 16, 2026.
Neha Chamaria has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Recommended Articles
