Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Receives $43.00 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $43.00.

WTRG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Essential Utilities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $43.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WTRG. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in Essential Utilities during the third quarter worth $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 61.4% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in Essential Utilities by 75.0% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of Essential Utilities stock opened at $34.92 on Friday. Essential Utilities has a 52-week low of $33.18 and a 52-week high of $41.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.55. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.24. The firm has a market cap of $9.59 billion, a PE ratio of 17.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.86.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.73%. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 65.00%.

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.