Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eleven research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $43.2857.

WTRG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group cut Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $47.00 to $44.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Barclays set a $38.00 price objective on Essential Utilities and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Janney Montgomery Scott cut Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Baird R W lowered shares of Essential Utilities from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essential Utilities

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. GoalVest Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. SouthState Corp increased its holdings in Essential Utilities by 834.7% during the 2nd quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 626 shares in the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its position in Essential Utilities by 1,163.8% during the third quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 733 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $37.80 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $38.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.64. Essential Utilities has a 1-year low of $33.18 and a 1-year high of $42.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The company has a market cap of $10.70 billion, a PE ratio of 15.68 and a beta of 0.81.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.06. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 28.09% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The company had revenue of $476.97 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $472.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.25 EPS. Essential Utilities’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Essential Utilities will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 12th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.85%.

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.