Ladenburg Thalmann Reiterates Aqua America Buy, $25 PT

Ladenburg Thalmann reiterated its Aqua America WTR Buy rating and $25 price target in a research report published today. In the report, Ladenburg Thalmann states, "This morning, Aqua announced two simultaneous transactions in which the company will acquire all of American Water's Ohio regulated water and wastewater assets for $120 million and American will acquire all of Aqua's New York regulated water utility assets for $71 million." Later in the report, Ladenburg Thalmann notes, "For American, the swap represents another opportunity to optimize its footprint. Asset optimization is a key aspect of the company's strategy to lift its lagging consolidated earned ROE, and to that end in the past year, the company has exited its operations in TX, NW, AZ, and OH." Shares of Aqua America were trading at $22.39 at the tiem of posting, down 0.44% from Friday's market close.