Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Receives $43.00 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $43.00.

Several brokerages have weighed in on WTRG. Jefferies Financial Group cut Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Essential Utilities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $43.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 2.0 %

WTRG stock opened at $35.19 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $37.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.72. Essential Utilities has a fifty-two week low of $33.18 and a fifty-two week high of $41.78. The firm has a market cap of $9.66 billion, a PE ratio of 17.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.55.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The business had revenue of $435.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $416.95 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.30 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its position in Essential Utilities by 4,309.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,255,483 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,424,000 after purchasing an additional 1,227,010 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 117.3% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,962,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,701,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059,320 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,811,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,134,000 after purchasing an additional 972,803 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,842,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 33.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 953,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,795,000 after purchasing an additional 237,096 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Company Profile

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.