Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Stock

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) had its target price upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $39.00 to $41.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 8.01% from the company’s current price.

WTRG has been the subject of several other reports. UBS Group cut their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.33.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of Essential Utilities stock opened at $37.96 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $10.42 billion, a PE ratio of 18.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.85. 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 has a 12 month low of $33.18 and a 12 month high of $41.78.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essential Utilities

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WTRG. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at about $102,600,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 8.1% in the fourth 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 grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 31.2% in the fourth 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 stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at about $52,355,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 16.7% in the fourth 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 currently owned by institutional investors.

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.