Fact based stock research
Aqua America (NYSE:WTR)

US29670G1022

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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.

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Aqua America stock research in summary

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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 80 (better than 80% compared with investment alternatives), Aqua America (Water Utilities, USA) shares have much better financial characteristics than comparable stocks. Shares of Aqua America are low in value (priced high) with a consolidated Value Rank of 16 (worse than 84% of alternatives). But they show above-average growth (Growth Rank of 93) and are safely financed (Safety Rank of 69, which means below-average debt burdens). ...read more


RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 80, is a strong buy recommendation based on Aqua America's financial characteristics. Investors looking for growth and low financial risk may find this stock attractive. While the company Aqua America exhibits low value (Obermatt Value Rank of 16), which means that the stock price is rather high, it also demonstrates above-average growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 93). This is a typical case, as high-growth companies are often expensive. Good financing practices (Obermatt Safety Rank of 69) are a double-edged sword: if the company continues growing, low debt limits shareholder returns. But if the company increases its debt, it will also increase risk. In other words, this is an investment on the safer side, despite the above-average price (low value). Obermatt Premium subscribers can further check the stock’s Sentiment Ranks, which also flow into the Obermatt 360° View for investors. ...read more


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Country USA
Industry Water Utilities
Index Employee Focus US, Water Tech, S&P MIDCAP
Size class Large

21-Mar-2024. Stock data may be delayed. Log in or sign up to get the most recent research.




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Research History: Aqua America

RESEARCH HISTORY 2021 2022 2023 2024
VALUE
VALUE
GROWTH
GROWTH
SAFETY
SAFETY
SENTIMENT
SENTIMENT
360° VIEW
360° VIEW

Most recent update of the stock research: 21-Mar-2024. Financial reporting date used for calculating ranks: 30-Sep-2023. Stock research history is based on the Obermatt Method. The higher the rank, the better Aqua America is in the corresponding investment strategy.
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Combined financial peformance in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 80 (better than 80% compared with investment alternatives), Aqua America (Water Utilities, USA) shares have much better financial characteristics than comparable stocks. Shares of Aqua America are low in value (priced high) with a consolidated Value Rank of 16 (worse than 84% of alternatives). But they show above-average growth (Growth Rank of 93) and are safely financed (Safety Rank of 69, which means below-average debt burdens). ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 80, is a strong buy recommendation based on Aqua America's financial characteristics. Investors looking for growth and low financial risk may find this stock attractive. While the company Aqua America exhibits low value (Obermatt Value Rank of 16), which means that the stock price is rather high, it also demonstrates above-average growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 93). This is a typical case, as high-growth companies are often expensive. Good financing practices (Obermatt Safety Rank of 69) are a double-edged sword: if the company continues growing, low debt limits shareholder returns. But if the company increases its debt, it will also increase risk. In other words, this is an investment on the safer side, despite the above-average price (low value). Obermatt Premium subscribers can further check the stock’s Sentiment Ranks, which also flow into the Obermatt 360° View for investors. ...read more

RESEARCH HISTORY 2021 2022 2023 2024
VALUE
VALUE
GROWTH
GROWTH
SAFETY
SAFETY
COMBINED
COMBINED

Last update of combined financial performance: 21-Mar-2024. Stock analysis on combined financial performance: The higher the rank of Aqua America the better the performance.


Value Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 16 (worse than 84% compared with alternatives), Aqua America shares are significantly more expensive than comparable stocks. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with all four indicators below average for Aqua America. Price-to-Sales is 11 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is higher than 89% of comparable companies, indicating a low value concerning Aqua America's sales levels. Price-to-Book Capital (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) also has a low Price-to-Book Rank of 46, which means that both reliable company size indicators, sales, and invested capital cannot explain the high stock price of Aqua America. In addition, the two profit-related value indicators, Price-to-Profit (also referred to as price-earnings, P/E) with a low rank of 22 and Dividend Yield, which is lower than 68% of comparable companies, also make the stock more expensive compared with investment alternatives. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 16, is a sell recommendation based on Aqua America's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. How can market participants pay such a high price for Aqua America? One reason may be that the company is simply too popular. If enough people want a particular stock, its price can exceed reasonable levels. This is often the case for companies offering new and exciting products and everybody wants a piece of the action. Should you pay a lot for a hot stock such as Aqua America? It's risky, and even if the stock price continues to grow because of popular demand, it may return to more typical lower levels later. And that return can be sudden and quick, making it impossible for retail investors to exit on time. Sometimes, high prices are deserved. This is the case when it is justified to believe that the company will dominate a market with high profit margins. It has happened in the past for many technology companies and indeed for commercially successful pharmaceutical discoveries. Sometimes they last, sometimes, they get eaten alive. Aqua America may be such a type of stock. That would mean, retail investors should be careful, only considering investing a small part of their wealth in this exciting category and always being ready to lose more than half, if not all of the investment. We recommend further analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks, including the 360° View, before making an investment decision, which is essential in this case, as the financial indicators are inconclusive. ...read more


VALUE METRICS 2021 2022 2023 2024
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)
DIVIDEND YIELD
DIVIDEND YIELD
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE

Last update of Value Rank: 21-Mar-2024. Stock analysis on value ratios: The higher the rank, the lower the value ratio of Aqua America; except for dividend yield where the rank is higher, the higher the yield.


Growth Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 93 (better than 93% compared with alternatives) for 2024, Aqua America shows one of the highest growth dynamics in its industry. Investors also speak of high momentum. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with all but one indicator above average for Aqua America. Sales Growth has a value of 79 which means that currently professionals expect the company to grow more than 79% of its competitors. Profit Growth with a value of 76 and Capital Growth with a rank of 73 means that currently, professionals expect the company to grow both profits and invested capital more than of its competitors. But Stock Returns has only a rank of 46, which means that stock returns have recently been below 54% of alternative investments. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 93, is a buy recommendation for growth and momentum investors. Aqua America has only one below-average growth indicator, the stock returns. This is probably the least reliable growth indicator, because it measures company and investor expectations at the same time. The three other growth indicators, which are all positive for Aqua America, are more reliable measures of growth momentum. For this reason, the company seems to be on a good trajectory, unless you think the current period is not representative, because of unique events that will not be repeated in the future. While momentum is a popular investment factor, the value aspect might be the more important one, in the longer term. We recommend analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks to arrive at a 360° View of the stock purchase case. ...read more

GROWTH METRICS 2021 2022 2023 2024
REVENUE GROWTH
REVENUE GROWTH
PROFIT GROWTH
PROFIT GROWTH
CAPITAL GROWTH
CAPITAL GROWTH
STOCK RETURNS
STOCK RETURNS
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH

Last update of Growth Rank: 21-Mar-2024. Stock analysis on growth metrics: The higher the rank, the higher the growth and returns of Aqua America.


Safety Metrics in Detail

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 two out of three are above average for Aqua America.Leverage is at 66, meaning the company has a below-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has less debt than 66% of its competitors.Refinancing is at a rank of 67, meaning that the portion of the debt that is about to be refinanced is below average. It has less debt in the refinancing stage than 67% of its competitors. Liquidity is at 48, meaning that the company generates less profit to service its debt than 52% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is on the riskier side regarding debt service. ...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. Low leverage and low refinancing risk mean a safer financing situation. However, low liquidity means that current company cash flows are low in relation to the level of debt. This is a sign of caution in case it is expected for profits to remain low. Investors should compare Obermatt’s Value, Growth, and Sentiment Ranks before deciding. They may also want to investigate why cash flows are expected to be low, making debt service for Aqua America more challenging. ...read more

SAFETY METRICS 2021 2022 2023 2024
LEVERAGE
LEVERAGE
REFINANCING
REFINANCING
LIQUIDITY
LIQUIDITY
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY

Last update of Safety Rank: 21-Mar-2024. Stock analysis on safety metrics: The higher the rank, the lower the leverage of Aqua America and the more cash is available to service its debt.


Sentiment Metrics in Detail

SENTIMENT 2021 2022 2023 2024
ANALYST OPINIONS
ANALYST OPINIONS
OPINIONS CHANGE
OPINIONS CHANGE
PRO HOLDINGS
PRO HOLDINGS
MARKET PULSE
MARKET PULSE
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT

Last update of Sentiment Rank: 21-Mar-2024. Stock analysis on sentiment metrics: The higher the rank, the more positive the sentiment for Aqua America.
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Stock analysis by the purely fact based Obermatt Method for Aqua America from March 21, 2024.

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