StockNews.com upgraded shares of Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning.
A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on WTRG. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Essential Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $41.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.50.
Read Our Latest Report on WTRG
Essential Utilities Trading Up 1.6 %
Shares of NYSE:WTRG traded up $0.60 on Friday, hitting $38.22. 839,010 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,478,305. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.80. Essential Utilities has a 12 month low of $33.18 and a 12 month high of $41.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $37.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.82.
Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) 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 company had revenue of $604.38 million during 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 fiscal year.
Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a $0.3255 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.41%. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio is currently 59.91%.
Institutional Trading of Essential Utilities
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 2,245,256 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in 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 period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in 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. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,317,312 shares of the company's stock valued at $156,526,000 after purchasing an additional 11,336 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,690,116 shares of the company's stock valued at $134,025,000 after buying an additional 236,250 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company's stock.
Essential Utilities Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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