Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Downgraded by Wells Fargo & Company to Equal Weight

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $39.00 price objective on the stock, down from their previous price objective of $43.00. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 11.43% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.20.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 0.8 %

WTRG opened at $35.00 on Tuesday. Essential Utilities has a 1-year low of $33.57 and a 1-year high of $41.78. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $38.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.61 billion, a PE ratio of 17.50, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $435.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $416.95 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.6% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 51,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,001,000 after buying an additional 803 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in Essential Utilities by 2.5% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 881,658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,912,000 after purchasing an additional 21,804 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Essential Utilities by 18.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,500,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,002,000 after acquiring an additional 234,857 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 5.6% during the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,585,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,152,000 after buying an additional 84,596 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 2nd quarter valued at $708,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

About Essential Utilities

Essential Utilities, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates regulated utilities that provide water, wastewater, or natural gas services in the United States. The company operates through Regulated Water and Regulated Natural Gas segments. It offers water services through operating and maintenance contract with municipal authorities and other parties.