May 1, 2025
Top 10 Stock Aqua America Strong Buy Recommendation
How to read the ranks
For every stock, we judge its performance against its peers and rank it on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the rank, the better the stock performs than its peers. And, we do this for six investment strategies:
Value - shows how good of a value the stock is. Green is "inexpensive"; red is "expensive".
Growth - shows a company's growth potential. Green is "high growth" expected; red is "tough times ahead".
Safety - relates to the amount of debt a company has. Green is low debt level; red is high debt level.
Combined Financial - this isn't an average of the first three ranks but rather a consolidated view across several financial indicators. Green = good; red = tread carefully.
(NEW) Sentiment - quantifies professional analyst ratings and holdings as well as market pulse. Green = positive sentiment; red = skepticism (Only available to Premium Subscribers).
(NEW) 360° View - the ultimate rating with all financial and non-financial indicators.
Snapshot: Aqua America – Top 10 Stock in S&P Mid-Cap Index
Aqua America is listed as a top 10 stock on May 01, 2025 in the market index S&P MIDCAP because of its high performance in at least one of the Obermatt investment strategies. Two consolidated Obermatt Ranks are above-average. The company is safely financed and the professional investor sentiment is positive. Both are encouraging signals for a stock purchase decision, albeit at an above-average share price. Based on the Obermatt 360° View of 75 (top 75% performer), Obermatt assesses an overall strong buy recommendation for Aqua America on May 01, 2025.
Snapshot: Obermatt Ranks
| Country | USA |
| Industry | Water Utilities |
| Index | Employee Focus US, Water Tech, S&P MIDCAP |
| Size class | Large |
When Obermatt identifies the Top 10 stocks in a market, it’s based on a certain investment strategy. The best performing stocks usually aren’t the ones that everyone is talking about (those are often "over-priced" and have low Value ranks).
For each investment strategy, we provide you with more detailed analysis and our recommendation. You see the ranks of the top 10 stocks ranked by that particular investment strategy (360° View, Sentiment, Value, Growth, Safety and Combined Financial Performance).
360° View: Obermatt 360° View Aqua America Strong Buy
| 360 METRICS | May 1, 2025 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 27 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 47 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 69 |
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| SENTIMENT | ||||||||
| SENTIMENT | 97 |
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| 360° VIEW | ||||||||
| 360° VIEW | 75 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt 360° View of 75 (better than 75% compared with alternatives) for 2025, overall professional sentiment and financial characteristics for the stock Aqua America are very positive. The 360° View is based on consolidating four consolidated indicators, with half below and half above average for Aqua America. The consolidated Sentiment Rank has a good rank of 97, which means that professional investors are more optimistic about the stock than for 97% of alternative investment opportunities. It also rates well regarding its financing structure, with the consolidated Safety Rank at 69 or better than 69% of its peers when looking at the amount of its debt, its refinancing requirements, and its ability to service debt. But the stock is expensive and expects low growth. The consolidated Value Rank is only 27, meaning that the share price of Aqua America is on the high side, compared with indicators such as revenues, profits, and invested capital. The company exhibits below-average growth momentum when looking at financial metrics such as revenue, profit, invested capital growth,and stock returns, with its Growth Rank at 47. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated 360° View of 75, Aqua America is better positioned than 75% of all alternative stock investment opportunities based on the Obermatt Method. As only half of the consolidated Obermatt Ranks exhibit excellent performance, namely the positive professional market sentiment (Sentiment Rank of 97) and safe financing practices (Safety Rank of 69), the case for investing in this stock needs further thought. The Value and the Safety Ranks are below average. The Safety Rank is the least critical of the four consolidated ranks, because it only reflects financing practices. So the question is: How to assess below-average value against above-average sentiment? This may be a case where growth is in the future, not yet reflected in current performance. Companies that might fall into this category are those with intellectual property, such as technology and pharmaceutical companies. In early phases, they are expensive relative to their size and have a lot of capital on their books, as is the case here. Investors expect a better future and are willing to pay a higher price than is warranted by the current company size. These higher prices drive stock price value down in the short term. In this case, future growth may be the strongest driver of the investment case, reflected by institutional investors' opinions. With a weak Value Rank, the question is how much to sacrifice value at the cost of positive sentiment. Sometimes market sentiment is just hype, but sometimes it is right. You pay more than market-average for this stock, but it may be worth it, if the future of Aqua Americạ is bright. Prudent investors may only want to invest a smaller portion of their wealth in such situations. Young investors can carry more risk but should still thrive for sufficient diversification. ...read more
Sentiment Strategy: Professional Market Sentiment for Aqua America very positive
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Sentiment Rank of 97 (better than 97% compared with alternatives) for 2025, overall professional sentiment and engagement for the stock Aqua America is very positive. The Sentiment Rank is based on consolidating four sentiment indicators, with all four indicators above average for Aqua America. Analyst Opinions are at a rank of 92 (better than 92% of alternative investments), which means that, currently, stock research analysts tend to recommend a stock investment in the company. Analyst Opinions Change is also positive with a rank of 50, which means that stock research experts are changing their opinions for the better and recommending investing in the company. They are getting more optimistic about stock investments in Aqua America. The Professional Investors rank is 93, which means that currently, professional investors hold more stock in this company than in 93% of alternative investment opportunities. Pros tend to favor investing in this company. Finally, Market Pulse has a rank of 64 which means that the current professional news and professional social networks are on the positive side when discussing this company (more positive news than for 64% of competitors). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Sentiment Rank of 97 (more positive than 97% compared with investment alternatives), Aqua America has a reputation among professional investors that is significantly higher than that of its competitors. Since all market sentiment indicators are positive, the professional community highly recommends investment in the company. Does this mean Aqua America stocks are a safe investment? Far from it. Even professionals make mistakes. Especially in stock investing, there is a tendency to follow the leaders. Since trees don't grow to the heavens, such positive sentiment may also be interpreted as a danger sign. A lot of optimism can often be a sign of troubles to come, albeit unforeseen by most. ...read more
Value Strategy: Aqua America Stock Price Value below-average critical
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 27 (worse than 73% compared with alternatives), Aqua America shares are more expensive than the average comparable stock. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators where three out of four are below average for Aqua America. Only the Price-to-Book Capital ratio (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) indicates good stock value with a Price-to-Book Rank of 57, which means that the stock price is lower compared with invested capital than for 57% of comparable investments. All other value indicators are below the market median. Price-to-Sales is 10 which means the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is higher than 90% of comparable companies, indicating a low value concerning Aqua America's revenue levels. The same is valid for the Price-to-Book Capital ratio (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) with a Price-to-Book Rank of 57 and for the dividend yields rank which is lower than for 61% of comparable companies, making the stock more expensive as regards to with the company's expected dividend payouts. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 27, is a hold recommendation based on Aqua America's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. Why are market participants paying such a high price for Aqua America, where three out of four value indicators are below par? One reason could be that the company is well financed, indicated by the high book capital level, and has a promising future that is not yet visible in reported revenues and profits. That would also explain the low dividend yield because the company needs the cash to invest in its future. If investors can verify a picture in this sense, the stock may still be a good investment, even though current company-reported financials don't fully explain current stock prices. ...read more
Growth Strategy: Aqua America Growth Momentum low
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 47 (better than 47% compared with alternatives), Aqua America shows a below-average growth dynamic in its industry. There is limited momentum in this company. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with half of the indicators below and half above average for Aqua America. Sales Growth has a rank of 86 which means that currently, professionals expect the company to grow more than 86% of its competitors. Capital Growth is also above 14% of competitors with a rank of 67. But Profit Growth only has a rank of 14, which means that currently professionals expect the company to grow its profits less than 86% of its competitors. And Stock Returns have also been below average with a rank of only 31. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 47, is a hold recommendation for growth and momentum investors. Profits are sometimes low if the company invests in the future. The positive revenue and capital investment outlook confirms such an interpretation. Both revenues and capital are solid growth indicators, and lower profits in such a case would be encouraging. But the investors see it differently by punishing the share price. Sometimes, Mister Market is not very reliable, because it is not uncommon for it to be volatile. Investors should look out for signs of growth expenditure that could justify low profit growth, and they may also find reasons why recent stock price developments don't confirm the growth outlook of operations. While operating growth indicators are not perfect, they are more reliable indicators for future performance than stock prices that can repeatedly surprise investors. ...read more
Safety Strategy: Aqua America Debt Financing Safety above-average
| SAFETY METRICS | May 1, 2025 | |||||||
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| LEVERAGE | ||||||||
| LEVERAGE | 62 |
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| REFINANCING | ||||||||
| REFINANCING | 53 |
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| LIQUIDITY | ||||||||
| LIQUIDITY | 64 |
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| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | ||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | 69 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 69 (better than 69% compared with alternatives), the company Aqua America has financing practices on the safer side, which mean that their overall debt burden is lower than average. This doesn't mean that the business of Aqua America is safe, it only means that the company is on the safer side regarding possible bankruptcy, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators, where all three are above average for Aqua America. Leverage is at 62, meaning the company has a below-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has less debt than 62% of its competitors. Refinancing is at a rank of 53, meaning that the portion of the debt about to be refinanced is below average. It has less debt in the refinancing stage than 53% of its competitors. Finally, Liquidity is also good at a rank of 64, which means that the company generates more profit to service its debt than 64% of its competitors. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 69 (better than 69% compared with alternatives), Aqua America has a financing structure that is safer than that of its competitors. These three positive financing indicators signal that the company is less likely to default on its debt obligations. However, it also means that its shareholder returns will be more modest if things go well. A low safety means fewer troubles in downtimes and less upside in good times. ...read more
Combined financial peformance: Aqua America Below-Average Financial Performance
| COMBINED PERFORMANCE | May 1, 2025 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 27 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 47 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 64 |
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| COMBINED | ||||||||
| COMBINED | 37 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 37 (worse than 63% compared with investment alternatives), Aqua America (Water Utilities, USA) shares have somewhat below-average financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of Aqua America are low in value (priced high) with a consolidated Value Rank of 27 (worse than 73% of alternatives) and show below-average growth (Growth Rank of 47) but are safely financed (Safety Rank of 69), which means low debt burdens. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 37, is a hold recommendation based on Aqua America's financial characteristics. As the company Aqua America's critical financial metrics exhibit below-average performance, such as low value (Obermatt Value Rank of 27) and low growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 47), it is a somewhat questionable stock investment, where the risk of paying too much for the shares is significant, unless the company has an exceptionally bright future. In this case, good financing practices (Obermatt Safety Rank of 69) are a positive sign, because it may allow the company to weather challenging times until the hoped-for cash flows materialize. This may be true for high-tech or biotechnology companies with enough cash to sustain prolonged business development. If they own properties that only provide cash flows in the future, the stock may look excessively expensive and unattractive today. In such cases, the Obermatt Method has limited value, as it is based on facts we can observe today. If the facts lie all in the future, stock investing becomes guesswork, and this should only be a driver in a limited number of investments that account for a small fraction of a safe portfolio. ...read more
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