United Utilities Group (LON:UU) Releases Earnings Results

United Utilities Group (LON:UU) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported GBX 107.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, Digital Look Earnings reports. United Utilities Group had a net margin of 16.93% and a return on equity of 20.12%. The business had revenue of GBX 261.63 billion for the quarter.

United Utilities Group Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of UU stock opened at GBX 1,416.50 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 571.15. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is GBX 1,341.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is GBX 1,260.70. The stock has a market cap of £9.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 76.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.56.

Key United Utilities Group News

Here are the key news stories impacting United Utilities Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UU announced plans to widen investment into housing, data centres and clean energy and is seeking to raise around £800m — a signal of growth and diversification that helped lift the stock. United Utilities aims to raise £800m
• Positive Sentiment: The company reported quarterly results showing GBX 107.10 EPS and GBX 261.63bn revenue, with a 20.12% ROE and a healthy net margin — underlying operational strength that supports investor confidence.
• Neutral Sentiment: Trading has been volatile around the announcements (rallied one day, slipped the next), reflecting short-term profit-taking and news digestion by the market. MarketWatch: United Utilities slips
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views are diverging — some participants applaud the growth push while others question execution and valuation, which may increase short-term volatility. Yahoo: Analyst views diverge
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies reaffirmed a “hold” and a GBX 1,320 price target — below the recent trading level — suggesting limited near-term upside from some brokers. Digital Look: Broker views
• Negative Sentiment: High reported leverage (debt-to-equity materially elevated) increases execution and refinancing risk if growth plans require additional funding, which could temper sentiment over the medium term.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Utilities Group

In other United Utilities Group news, insider Marina Wyatt acquired 2,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of GBX 1,269 per share, with a total value of £30,456. Insiders purchased 2,426 shares of company stock valued at $3,079,348 in the last quarter. 0.05% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UU has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a GBX 1,320 price objective on shares of United Utilities Group in a research note on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of GBX 1,381.40.

United Utilities Group Company Profile

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.