Water Utilities: Old Companies, New Opportunities

Last month, I posted articles about electric utilities and gas utilities. I am rounding out the group with a write-up on water utility stocks. One of the most unusual idiosyncrasies about this group of companies is that five out of the twelve are over 100 years old. The list below shows the stock name, symbol, yield, and the primary states that they serve.

BIW Ltd (BIW) 4.3% [Connecticut]
The highest yielding company in the list, BIW is a regulated public water service company serving the state of Connecticut.

Connecticut Water Service Inc. (CTWS) 3.7% [Connecticut]
This is another Connecticut water supplier company that was founded in 1956.

Middlesex Water Company (MSEX) 3.7% [New Jersey & Delaware]
This New Jersey based company is one of the oldies on the list, founded in 1897. It also provides wastewater services.

Artesian Resources Corporation (ARTNA) 3.4% [Delaware]
Artesian provides water and fire protection services in Delaware. Founded in 1905.

Pennichuck Corp (PNNW) 3.2% [New Hampshire]
This is the second oldest company on the list, which was started in 1852. It provides water to the southern half of New Hampshire.

California Water Service Group (CWT) 2.9% [California]
The San Jose based company serves over 2 million customers in California.

York Water Company (YORW) 2.6% [Pennsylvania]
Founded in 1816, this is the oldest company on the list and one of the oldest publicly traded companies.

American States Water Company (AWR) 2.4% [California and Arizona]
This company just received a rate increase from the California Public Utilities Commission. In addition to distributing water, they also provide electricity to some of their customers.

Aqua America, Inc. (WTR) 2.0% [PA, OH, NC et al.]
This company water in numerous states including Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, Illinois, Texas, New Jersey, Florida, Indiana, Virginia, Maine, Missouri, New York, and South Carolina.

Southwest Water Company (SWWC) 1.7% [California, Texas, and New Mexico]
This company has operations in Alabama, California, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, Georgia, Mississippi, New Jersey, and South Dakota.

SJW Corp (SJW) 1.40% [California]
Founded in 1866 [third oldest on the list], they provide water service to the Silicon Valley area. They just sold two parcels to Adobe Systems (ADBE) for $32,500,000.

Basin Water Inc. (BWTR) [California]
Although not technically a water utility as such, it designs and builds groundwater treatment systems. It does not pay a dividend.

Author owns CTWS and CWT.