Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Stock Rating Lowered by Wells Fargo & Company

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $39.00 price target on the stock, down from their prior price target of $43.00. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 11.43% from the company’s previous close.

WTRG has been the subject of a number of other reports. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.20.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of WTRG stock opened at $35.00 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.86. Essential Utilities has a 1-year low of $33.57 and a 1-year high of $41.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.83.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $435.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.95 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.30 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Essential Utilities will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Essential Utilities by 4,309.4% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,255,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,424,000 after buying an additional 1,227,010 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 117.3% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,962,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,701,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059,320 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,811,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,134,000 after buying an additional 972,803 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the third quarter valued at $30,842,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 33.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 953,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,795,000 after purchasing an additional 237,096 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.