United Utilities Group (LON:UU) Shares Pass Above 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

United Utilities Group PLC (LON:UU)’s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of GBX 1,168.35 and traded as high as GBX 1,230.50. United Utilities Group shares last traded at GBX 1,206.50, with a volume of 1,952,430 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on UU. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a GBX 1,275 target price on shares of United Utilities Group in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of United Utilities Group from GBX 1,261 to GBX 1,327 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of GBX 1,379.

United Utilities Group Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of GBX 1,201.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of GBX 1,168.35. The firm has a market cap of £8.17 billion, a PE ratio of 64.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 551.89, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.79.

United Utilities Group (LON:UU) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The company reported GBX 52.80 EPS for the quarter. United Utilities Group had a return on equity of 6.35% and a net margin of 6.51%. Sell-side analysts expect that United Utilities Group PLC will post 50.9730539 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Phil Aspin sold 23,367 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 1,233, for a total transaction of £288,115.11. Corporate insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

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.