5-Star Stocks Poised to Pop: Aqua America

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Based on the aggregated intelligence of 125,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, water utility company Aqua America (NYSE: WTR) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Aqua America's business, and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

Aqua America facts

Headquarters (founded)	Bryn Mawr, Pa. (1968)
Market Cap	$2.74 billion
Industry	Water Utilities
TTM Revenue	$616.2 million
Management	Chairman/CEO Nicholas DeBenedictis CFO David Smeltzer
Return on Equity (average, last three years)	10.2%
Dividend Yield	2.6%
Competitors	American Water Works (NYSE: AWK) American States Water (NYSE: AWR)
CAPS members bullish on WTR also bullish on:	Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) Altria (NYSE: MO)
CAPS members bearish on WTR also bearish on:	Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) Cherokee (Nasdaq: CHKE)

Sources: Capital IQ (a division of Standard & Poor's), and Motley Fool CAPS. TTM = trailing 12 months.

Over on CAPS, 382 of the 410 members who have rated Aqua America -- or 93% -- believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include Dezertenergy and jerkimo.

Last week, Dezertenergy included Aqua America as one of the ways to play with water:

Playing the water sector with 15 picks. It's a 'real' problem with needed solutions on a constant basis. I think there's plenty of room for growth and value in this sector.

In an earlier pitch from November, jerkimo elaborates on the stock's long-term tailwinds:

[Aqua America] is positioned nicely to capitalize on the growing need for clean water & improved wastewater treatment systems in the U.S. They are large (just recently picked up an area of Long Island), they improve infrastructure, and they run their business very well (18 dividend increases in the last 17 yrs). They have had a cold spell for over 2 yrs, but their business has continued to grow much better than many of their competitors. [Aqua America] is a best-of-breed company.

What do you think about Aqua America, or any other stock for that matter? Make your voice heard on Motley Fool CAPS today. More than 125,000 investors are waiting to hear what you have to say. CAPS is 100% free, so simply click here to get started.