Brokerages Set Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Target Price at $43.50

Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $43.50.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WTRG shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded 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 hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WTRG. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter worth $102,600,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,061,135 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,091,820,000 after purchasing an additional 2,245,256 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 6,726,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $244,296,000 after purchasing an additional 1,597,672 shares during the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. purchased a new position in Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at about $52,355,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings 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 worth $247,134,000 after buying an additional 972,803 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 0.0 %

NYSE:WTRG opened at $39.54 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. Essential Utilities has a twelve month low of $33.18 and a twelve month high of $41.78. The company has a market cap of $10.89 billion, a PE ratio of 19.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s 50 day moving average is $37.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.81.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share 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 net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. Analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 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.