Brokerages Set Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Target Price at $43.33

Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $43.50.

WTRG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WTRG. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $102,600,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,061,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,091,820,000 after purchasing an additional 2,245,256 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 31.2% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 6,726,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $244,296,000 after purchasing an additional 1,597,672 shares during the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. acquired a new position in Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at $52,355,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,811,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,134,000 after purchasing an additional 972,803 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $39.81 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $35.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.83. The firm has a market cap of $10.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.79. Essential Utilities has a 52 week low of $33.18 and a 52 week high of $41.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $604.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $698.77 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Essential Utilities will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is 59.91%.

Essential Utilities Company Profile

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.