A run of MLB rainouts may signal a tough quarter for water utilities, analysts say. Image by Getty Images North America via @daylife  On Friday, wet weather in New York washed out the Yankees game against the Tampa Bay Rays in the Bronx, delaying shortstop Derek Jeter’s bid for 3,000 hits. The Yankee captain handled things just fine – blowing past the milestone with a home run in a 5-for-5 game Saturday – but the rainout was part of a trend the analysts at Janney Capital Markets say could be a warning sign for water utilities.  For all of 2010 Major League Baseball saw 21 rainouts, in line with the historical average. That figure has spiked in 2011 though, with 34 rainouts as of the end of June, and JCM figures the wet season is a bad sign for second-quarter volume sales for many water utilities in the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and Eastern states.  Disruptions to the home schedules for the likes of the Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox, Yankees and others, are indicative of the broader trend of more rainfall than a year ago in the second quarter – rainfall levels in/around NYC were up 25% –and could drive lower demand for water utilities in uses like lawn or golf course irrigation.  The JCM analysts still like the space though, and see light earnings driven by “fluctuating precipitation levels” as a buying opportunity, particularly for the firm’s top pick, New Jersey-based American Water Works.  JCM also has buy ratings on fellow NJ water utility Middlesex Water, Delaware’s Artesian Resources, Pennsylvania’s York Water and Connecticut Water Service.
A postponement delayed Derek Jeter's 3,000th hit Friday, and a slew of them in Q2 could hit water utility earnings this quarter.