Insider Buying: United Utilities Group (LON:UU) Insider Buys £175.50 in Stock

Key Points

• Insider buying: United Utilities Group insider Louise Beardmore bought 13 shares at GBX 1,350 each, totaling just £175.50. The purchase was disclosed as a Monday, July 13 transaction.
• Stock and financial snapshot: Shares opened at GBX 1,366, giving the company a market cap of £9.36 billion. The stock also carries a high debt-to-equity ratio of 512.65, while the company reported quarterly EPS of GBX 107.10 and net margin of 22.43%.
• Analyst sentiment: Recent analyst views are mixed, with two Buy ratings and five Hold ratings. The consensus target price is GBX 1,431.43, and the average rating remains Hold.

United Utilities Group PLC (LON:UU - Get Free Report) insider Louise Beardmore bought 13 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of GBX 1,350 per share, for a total transaction of £175.50.

United Utilities Group Stock Performance

United Utilities Group stock opened at GBX 1,366 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of £9.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.73, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.58. The business's 50 day moving average is GBX 1,333.55 and its 200 day moving average is GBX 1,310.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 512.65.

United Utilities Group (LON:UU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported GBX 107.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of GBX 261.63 billion for the quarter. United Utilities Group had a net margin of 22.43% and a return on equity of 27.72%. On average, analysts forecast that United Utilities Group PLC will post 50.9730539 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UU has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their target price on United Utilities Group from £152.50 to GBX 1,340 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of United Utilities Group from GBX 1,450 to GBX 1,550 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and set a GBX 1,320 price objective on shares of United Utilities Group in a report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of United Utilities Group from GBX 1,300 to GBX 1,450 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of United Utilities Group to a "sector perform" rating and upped their target price for the company from GBX 1,450 to GBX 1,550 in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of GBX 1,431.43.

About United Utilities Group

United Utilities Group PLC provides water and wastewater services in the United Kingdom. It is involved in the renewable energy generation, corporate trustee, financing, and property management activities; and provision of consulting, and project management services. The company operates 43,000 kilometers of water pipes; and 79,000 kilometers of wastewater pipes. United Utilities Group PLC was incorporated in 2008 and is based in Warrington, the United Kingdom.

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