Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) has received a "Moderate Buy" rating from analysts, with an average price target of $44.00. Barclays raised its target price to $43.00, while Baird downgraded its rating to "hold." Northcoast Research upgraded the stock to "buy" with a $42.00 target. UBS Group maintained a "neutral" rating with a $45.00 target. The company reported strong quarterly earnings, beating estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend with a 3.6% yield. Institutional investors hold 74.78% of the stock.

Shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $44.00.

Overlooked Analyst-Approved Dividend Plays You Can Count On

WTRG has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays lifted their target price on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Baird R W downgraded Essential Utilities from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Northcoast Research upgraded Essential Utilities from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $42.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $45.00 target price (down from $46.00) on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Monday.

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Essential Utilities Price Performance

Top 3 Stocks to Outperform the S&P 500 in a Downturn

WTRG stock opened at $37.92 on Friday. Essential Utilities has a one year low of $33.18 and a one year high of $42.37. The company's fifty day moving average price is $39.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $10.73 billion, a PE ratio of 15.73 and a beta of 0.81.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $476.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $472.40 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 28.09% and a return on equity of 10.20%. Essential Utilities's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.25 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th were given a dividend of $0.3426 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio is 56.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essential Utilities

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at $638,000. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 28.2% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 498,669 shares of the company's stock worth $19,713,000 after purchasing an additional 109,582 shares during the last quarter. Greenland Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 155.9% during the second quarter. Greenland Capital Management LP now owns 465,810 shares of the company's stock worth $17,300,000 after purchasing an additional 283,790 shares during the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the second quarter worth about $2,918,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.3% in the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 543,918 shares of the company's stock worth $20,201,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Essential Utilities Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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