WTR - Is Aqua America's Valuation Justified?
Current Situation
Aqua America (WTR) has had a fantastic run. They are up 43.90% during the past five years, mostly in line with the rest of the S&P 500 index as witnessed by the chart below. It does feel kind of strange, doesn't it? During one of the best economic cycles in recent history, an utility company operating mostly in regulated businesses can match the growth of the SP500?(chart provided by yahoo finance)
Now let's look at the actual growth in term of revenue. (years 2014-2017 taken from Aqua America's 2017 annual