Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Stock Now Rated “Moderate Buy” by Sell-Side Analysts

Shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nine ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $43.75.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays upped their price target on Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Essential Utilities to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essential Utilities

In related news, insider Colleen Arnold sold 2,855 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.55, for a total value of $112,915.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 17,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $686,073.85. This represents a 14.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Essential Partners LLC grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 29.9% during the first quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 1,234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 6,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $252,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,153 shares of the company’s stock worth $328,000 after buying an additional 340 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 3.3% during the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 10,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $435,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 3,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of WTRG stock opened at $38.53 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $10.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.66, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.63. Essential Utilities has a 52-week low of $36.10 and a 52-week high of $42.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The company’s 50 day moving average is $40.40 and its 200 day moving average is $39.23.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $530.85 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $538.90 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.23% and a net margin of 21.60%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities will post 2.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th were paid a dividend of $0.3606 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 11th. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.3426. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is 73.47%.

Essential Utilities Company Profile

Essential Utilities, Inc is a regulated utility company that provides essential water, wastewater and natural gas services to residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers. Its water operations include the treatment, distribution and supply of drinking water, while its wastewater business manages the collection and treatment of sewage. The company also distributes natural gas through regulated utility operations.

The company serves customers across several U.S. states, including Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Texas, North Carolina, New Jersey, Indiana, Virginia, Georgia and West Virginia.