Update: Aqua America (NYSE:WTR) Stock Gained 42% In The Last Five Years
The simplest way to invest in stocks is to buy exchange traded funds. But the truth is, you can make significant gains if you buy good quality businesses at the right price. For example, the Aqua America, Inc. (NYSE:WTR) share price is 42% higher than it was five years ago, which is more than the market average. Over the last year the stock price is up, albeit only a modest 4.6%.
View our latest analysis for Aqua America
While the efficient markets hypothesis continues to be taught by some, it has been proven that markets are over-reactive dynamic systems, and investors are not always rational. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time.
Aqua America’s earnings per share are down 1.3% per year, despite strong share price performance over five years. So it’s hard to argue that the earnings per share are the best metric to judge the company, as it may not be optimized for profits at this point. Therefore, it’s worth taking a look at other metrics to try to understand the share price movements.
The revenue growth of 1.6% per year hardly seems impressive. So it seems one might have to take closer look at earnings and revenue trends to see how they might influence the share price.
Depicted in the graphic below, you’ll see revenue and earnings over time. If you want more detail, you can click on the chart itself.
We consider it positive that insiders have made significant purchases in the last year. Even so, future earnings will be far more important to whether current shareholders make money. You can see what analysts are predicting for Aqua America in this interactive graph of future profit estimates.
What About Dividends?
It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. The TSR is a return calculation that accounts for the value of cash dividends (assuming that any dividend received was reinvested) and the calculated value of any discounted capital raisings. It’s fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. In the case of Aqua America, it has a TSR of 61% for the last 5 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.
A Different Perspective
It’s good to see that Aqua America has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 7.2% in the last twelve months. That’s including the dividend. However, that falls short of the 10.0% TSR per annum it has made for shareholders, each year, over five years. Investors who like to make money usually check up on insider purchases, such as the price paid, and total amount bought. You can find out about the insider purchases of Aqua America by clicking this link.
Aqua America is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US exchanges.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
