United Utilities Share Discussion Threads

[redartbmud] 26/8/2014 17:12

wad

Similar sentiment here. I had intended to top slice if they hit
£9 again, but had a visitor today and didn't get the chance.
Bet they open down after 440k sold after hours.

red

[wad collector] 26/8/2014 16:05

Bit of a surge this afternoon , tickled 910 . I am tempted to
unload some more if it keeps heading this way . Don't like watching
them go up and then watching them going down unsold..

[zeppo] 21/8/2014 09:53

OFWAT then what?'

Draft determination' due around 29th August 2104.

z

[lord gnome] 20/8/2014 18:59

Yes, going back up as quickly as it came down. This time we should get through the £9 level. Onwards and upwards.

[wad collector] 20/8/2014 17:26

That was a cheeky late rise to the bell. Tending back to £9 again.

[redartbmud] 14/8/2014 17:01

Linhur

Double whammy!

red

[linhur] 14/8/2014 16:15

Wad

Perhaps Salmon could be persuaded to start fracking so UU could sell some water to him and charge him again for disposing of the waste water!
Linhur

[wad collector] 14/8/2014 14:46

Hard to really imagine a Yes vote is going to have much impact on the water industry. Not exactly a competitive supply industry , the most would be a complication to the accounts I would have thought.
Or would Mad Salmond put barbed wire around the reservoirs and renationalise them?

[linhur] 14/8/2014 09:45

Alp

UU. said at AGM they are second biggest supplier of water in Scotland on the residential side and they are using this operation as a testbed for the opening up of competition UK wise in 2017.Admittedly it is small beer in the overall scheme of things but achieved their Scottish position from a standing start 2 years ago.

Linhur

[alphorn] 10/8/2014 22:18

May move back into UU this week - one question though - is there any way that UU could be exposed to a Yes vote in Scotland. I think that all activities and water sources are south of the border - any views?

edit: opened small bullish position.

[wad collector] 08/8/2014 21:01

Well let's face it , money is ultimately for spending...
I am looking at the lightning in the French Alps , hoping that Sterling doesn't weaken before the bills are paid.

[philo124] 08/8/2014 19:54

Good buy back wad; wish I'd thought of it but been sorting out new house in Malaga.

[wad collector] 08/8/2014 17:38

Picked some up at 838 this morning that I sold at 898 , but others that I sold cheaper still not worth buying back.

[philo124] 25/7/2014 07:14

IMS. I don't hold.

[fangorn2] 25/7/2014 07:04

Trading update

Current trading is in line with the group's expectations. Revenue has increased, reflecting the regulated price rise for 2014/15, partly offset by the previously announced special customer discount of cGBP20 million which has been applied to this year's bills. This increase in revenue is largely offset by higher depreciation and other operating costs, as expected.

Our capital investment programme is progressing well and, as planned, this has continued at high levels as we invest to maintain and improve services for customers and deliver further environmental benefits. This also provides a significant contribution to the regional economy.

Regulatory capital investment for 2014/15, including infrastructure renewals expenditure, is expected to be similar to the high level of investment in 2013/14.

We continue to deliver improvements in customer service, underpinned by good operational performance. The water and sewerage companies have now published their 2013/14 Ofwat key performance indicator reports and we are pleased to report a top quartile performance across this range of operational metrics. In addition, companies have recently published their overall service incentive mechanism (SIM) scores for 2013/14 and we have achieved an above average score across the industry on this measure, representing continued year-on-year improvement.

Financial position United Utilities' financial position remains robust. Group net debt is similar to the position at 31 March 2014, despite continued high levels of capital investment. This is before payment of the proposed 2013/14 final dividend, which is scheduled for 1 August 2014, and totals approximately GBP164 million. Gearing remains well within Ofwat's 2010-15 assumed range of 55% to 65% net debt to regulatory capital value. This supports a solid A3 credit rating for United Utilities Water PLC (UUW). The group has financing headroom into 2016.

[benchmark] 23/7/2014 11:42

Still battling with the £9 hurdle

[luckymouse] 10/7/2014 09:26

Lord Gnome - nice buy fella - im waiting to see if BKG goes below 2300 - strong potential TR there

Darius - TR is Total Return per annum - I was referring to 20-30% TR per yr.

ATB LM

[darias] 10/7/2014 08:49

I didn't know what GVC etc were so looked. After seeing that GVC was an internet casino stock I didn't look any further. UU. is not a gaming stock it is a defensive stock. You want to gamble that is up to you but we did not come into this stock or buy more as a gamble it is a high yielding stock with little risk if buying and holding.

You have queried TIA which I understood as thanks (Ta) in advance. Perhaps I am more com speak literate than you. I did grin a little at your thought that it was a medical condition. Shows that you have intelligence or a medical background.

But don't criticise somebody's jargon and then use your own. What the hell is TR in the phrase "you will get 20%-30% TR". (Thunder Roll?) It may be Trading Range but I have not seen it before and, in any event, we do not trade this stock we already had a 30% increase over 5 years so was at our limit to place a stop loss. But that was not rational. We had held for a long time and there may be another 30% increase from this level in another 5 years - neither you nor I know that.

As for the statement that "You cant look at charts and fundamentals" is daft. Perhaps I didn't phrase it properly. The club and I always look at fundamentals first and will choose to look at charts to see if the price is good to enter into a trade. It is my view that a chartist looks at the charts first and may look at fundamentals to see if those charts can be interpreted but a true chartist would not bother.

I do not see the point of posting that the charts are showing a rise or fall then going on about fundamentals. Neither do I see the point about posting fundamentals and then talking about charts. I would rather buy a good fundamental stock and then wait for the charts to catch up rather than buying a poor stock on fundamentals just because the charts demonstrate that the market "knows" something I don't.

A good company will always rise to the top. Charts have their tops and bottoms which no one can predict but "re charting - at the extreme boundaries it does work I would say 80% of the time - but requires patience as it doesn't always bounce off straight away - the rest of the time TA has something like a 65% success rate which is why I stick to boundaries" The chartist came a right cropper in the last bear market and this bull market is running out of legs.

[lord gnome] 10/7/2014 08:34

Charts are essential with big trading stocks such as this. I watched UU come all the way down to support at 650 in December last year and then bought (paid 646.5 actually). At that level the chart screamed 'support' and 'buy'. And low and behold, so it came to pass. Simples!
When to sell? Err... at these dizzy heights, that's a different matter. A 4% yield is still worth holding, but I confess to having itchy fingers.

[luckymouse] 09/7/2014 23:52

huh? Ive always been LM - bit paranoid fella

re TIA don't know what that is - a mini stroke or something?

re bid froth - agreed - but that applies to anything - pharma in particular

re trading seasonality - Utilities fall out of season in summer

re charting - at the extreme boundaries it does work I would say 80% of the time - but requires patience as it doesn't always bounce off straight away - the rest of the time TA has something like a 65% success rate which is why I stick to boundaries

re defensives & geo pol hazards agreed - but that card has 'already' been well and truly played with UU & Putin - I think this is starting to look exhausted - its reached thin air

re divs - GVC, BKG, FLG are lot better - nearly double in fact - a total return of 20%-30% long term hold is ideal wealth creation & UU has had a brilliant run - but do you think you will get 20%-30% TR at this stage? Top of channel - above consensus. Or the hedgies will find that TR elsewhere and rotate?

re "You cant look at charts and fundamentals" - that's just plain daft - you buy right at the btm of the long term channel stks with strongly accelerating f'casts - and sell right at the top of the channel with strongly slowing f'casts - that way as many winds are at your back as possible - when the move actually takes place you don't have much control over - but if you hold your convictions and have done your homework right - it will move

No one here can move a FTSE100 stock so lets see what the mkt does

[wad collector] 09/7/2014 23:28

I find it hard to imagine that one poster on one BB will have any impact on the share price of a company that had 3000 trades today. Small illiquid stocks might be influenced by one plausible poster with a credible history , but can't imagine UU share price will be recoiling with the news of one seller.
I post my own trades on here as I find it quicker to check back than sign into my trading a/c , and I am always dubious of posters who never announce their trades until much later.

[darias] 09/7/2014 22:36

This is where the shorters want everything their own way. You cant look at charts and fundamentals. Decide one way or the other. UU is our top holding and we added at, possibly, the top of a channel but who cares! LM has stated the reason why we bought more in his post. The stock is defensive paying a reasonable yield, especially at our average price. It is starting to look ugly out there. Palestine and Israel at each others throats.A new caliphate formed, terrorism higher up the agenda not to mention lack of growth in europe with political uncertainty in the uk. Whether or not Scotland votes for independence there will be horse trading going on. Rise of Ukip with the response by the tories threatening an eu referendum and a general election next year. Who wouldn't take a defensive stock? As for charts they have their place but not for a stock such as this where peeps like us buy and hold and keep taking the divi.

[pierre oreilly] 09/7/2014 18:29

Just as a matter of interest lm, what handle did you use before this week when you created 'lm'? It would be useful to see your track record. Tia. (And you are still spinning the directors sells when, in fact, they are increasing their holding, and not decreasing as I'm sure you are trying to imply.

Good luck with your charting, something I think is total nonsense. What no chartist would claim is that it can predict future events, such as sector consolidation which is predicted. It doesn't take UU to be approached to step the price up - any approach to any sector constituent would.

[luckymouse] 09/7/2014 17:44

I am short of course - heres the full story - its top of long term channel - double topping TA - dirs selling - growth f'cast slowing significantly - held up by an avg yld and defensive - still living off last yrs great results - well above bkr consensus with a year to go!!!

If its at fair value a yr early what do you think it will do in the year between - Stay a flat line?