Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) PT Lowered to $43.00

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) had its price target trimmed by Robert W. Baird from $44.00 to $43.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

Separately, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $38.78 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $10.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.38, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.80. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.99. Essential Utilities has a 1 year low of $32.07 and a 1 year high of $43.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 29.52%. The company had revenue of $479.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $708.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.44 EPS. Essential Utilities’s revenue was down 32.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $0.3071 per share. This is an increase from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $1.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.29%.

Insider Transactions at Essential Utilities

In other news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,023 shares of Essential Utilities stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.56, for a total value of $73,960.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 13,358 shares in the company, valued at approximately $488,368.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.21, for a total transaction of $207,073.65. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 57,756 shares in the company, valued at $2,149,100.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,023 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.56, for a total transaction of $73,960.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 13,358 shares in the company, valued at approximately $488,368.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Essential Utilities

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTRG. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 235,841 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,096,000 after purchasing an additional 29,372 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its position in Essential Utilities by 94.0% during the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 81,799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,808,000 after buying an additional 39,643 shares during the period. Mariner LLC increased its holdings in Essential Utilities by 9.9% in the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 34,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,180,000 after buying an additional 3,104 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter worth about $3,583,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,168,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $932,698,000 after acquiring an additional 99,560 shares in the last quarter. 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.