Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nine analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $43.20.

Separately, Argus upgraded Essential Utilities to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of WTRG opened at $38.06 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.38. Essential Utilities has a 52-week low of $36.32 and a 52-week high of $42.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.78 billion, a PE ratio of 17.22 and a beta of 0.67.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.11. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 9.18% and a net margin of 24.91%.The business had revenue of $699.11 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $611.60 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.67 EPS. Essential Utilities’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Essential Utilities will post 2.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be paid a $0.3426 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is presently 61.99%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essential Utilities

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WTRG. GoalVest Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. American National Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new stake in Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Essential Utilities in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 1,163.8% in the 3rd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

About Essential Utilities

Essential Utilities, Inc, formerly known as Aqua America, is a publicly traded water and natural gas utility holding company. Through its regulated water and wastewater subsidiaries, the company provides essential water services to residential, commercial and industrial customers. In addition, Essential Utilities delivers natural gas distribution services in Pennsylvania through its Peoples Gas subsidiary, offering integrated utility solutions under a unified corporate framework.

The company traces its roots to the Philadelphia Suburban Water Company, founded in 1886 to serve growing communities outside Philadelphia.