Aqua America, Inc. (NYSE:WTR) updated its FY17 earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $1.34-1.39 for the period, compared to the Thomson Reuters consensus earnings per share estimate of $1.36.
A number of research firms recently issued reports on WTR. BidaskClub raised Aqua America from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Friday. Zacks Investment Research raised Aqua America from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, July 13th. Finally, Northcoast Research assumed coverage on Aqua America in a research report on Thursday, May 25th. They issued a neutral rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $32.25.
Aqua America, Inc. (NYSE WTR) traded down 1.00% during trading on Friday, hitting $33.60. The stock had a trading volume of 519,058 shares. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $33.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.23. Aqua America, Inc. has a 12-month low of $28.03 and a 12-month high of $34.41. The company has a market capitalization of $5.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.65 and a beta of 0.52.
Aqua America (NYSE:WTR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, hitting the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.34. Aqua America had a net margin of 28.59% and a return on equity of 12.51%. The company had revenue of $203.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $208.28 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.33 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Aqua America, Inc. will post $1.36 earnings per share for the current year.
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.2047 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 14th. This is a boost from Aqua America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. Aqua America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.78%.
In related news, Director Richard H. Glanton sold 4,200 shares of Aqua America stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.83, for a total value of $137,886.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $72,455.81. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Richard Scott Fox sold 5,750 shares of Aqua America stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.89, for a total transaction of $189,117.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 18,788 shares in the company, valued at $617,937.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
About Aqua America
Aqua America, Inc is a holding company. The Company is engaged in providing water or wastewater services concentrated in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, Illinois, North Carolina, New Jersey, Indiana and Virginia. The Company is the holding company for its primary subsidiary, Aqua Pennsylvania, Inc Its market-based activities are conducted through Aqua Resources, Inc (Aqua Resources) and Aqua Infrastructure, LLC (Aqua Infrastructure).
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