Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the six ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $43.00.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on WTRG shares. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Essential Utilities from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $43.00 to $39.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Essential Utilities from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $44.00 to $41.00 in a report on Thursday, November 7th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essential Utilities

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WTRG. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Essential Utilities by 219.4% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 122,581 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,452,000 after purchasing an additional 84,208 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 28.7% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 60,605 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,338,000 after acquiring an additional 13,518 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. bought a new stake in Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter worth about $288,000. Capital Market Strategies LLC boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 166.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital Market Strategies LLC now owns 14,100 shares of the company's stock valued at $512,000 after purchasing an additional 8,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,811,851 shares of the company's stock worth $247,134,000 after purchasing an additional 972,803 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of WTRG traded up $0.44 on Tuesday, reaching $34.18. 1,816,265 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,470,471. The firm has a market cap of $9.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.86. Essential Utilities has a 12 month low of $33.18 and a 12 month high of $41.78. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $37.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.39.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $435.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 last year, the company earned $0.30 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Essential Utilities will post 2.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $0.3255 dividend. 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 3.81%. Essential Utilities's payout ratio is 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.