Bank of America Corp DE cut its stake in Aqua America, Inc. (NYSE:WTR) by 29.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 300,874 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 124,212 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.17% of Aqua America worth $9,673,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Aqua America by 4.2% in the first quarter. Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. now owns 3,301 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Aqua America by 1.4% in the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,892 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $125,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. AT Bancorp purchased a new stake in shares of Aqua America during the first quarter valued at about $203,000. Trexquant Investment LP bought a new position in Aqua America during the first quarter valued at $208,000. Finally, OppenheimerFunds Inc. bought a new position in Aqua America during the first quarter valued at $211,000. 50.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Shares of Aqua America, Inc. (NYSE WTR) traded up 0.12% during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $33.82. The stock had a trading volume of 357,289 shares. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $33.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.01 billion, a PE ratio of 25.82 and a beta of 0.52. Aqua America, Inc. has a 1-year low of $28.03 and a 1-year high of $34.41.
Aqua America (NYSE:WTR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, hitting the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.34. Aqua America had a net margin of 28.59% and a return on equity of 12.51%. The business had revenue of $203.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $208.28 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.33 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Aqua America, Inc. will post $1.36 earnings per share for the current year.
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 16th will be paid a $0.2047 dividend. This is a boost from Aqua America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 14th. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.42%. Aqua America’s dividend payout ratio is 62.60%.
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Several research firms have weighed in on WTR. BidaskClub lowered Aqua America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 6th. Zacks Investment Research lowered Aqua America from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 18th. Finally, Northcoast Research began coverage on Aqua America in a report on Thursday, May 25th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.25.
In related news, COO Richard Scott Fox sold 5,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 18,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $617,937.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Richard H. Glanton sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.83, for a total transaction of $137,886.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $72,455.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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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