Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Receives Average Rating of "Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Buy" from the six ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $43.40.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WTRG. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday.

Insider Activity at Essential Utilities

In other Essential Utilities news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,342 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.43, for a total value of $87,661.06. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 53,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,998,425.13. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Essential Utilities

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Essential Utilities by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,992,080 shares of the company's stock worth $1,045,504,000 after purchasing an additional 823,495 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 17,553.7% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,425,350 shares of the company's stock valued at $126,156,000 after acquiring an additional 3,405,947 shares in the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 3,069,377 shares of the company's stock valued at $114,641,000 after acquiring an additional 313,277 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,754,099 shares of the company's stock valued at $102,811,000 after acquiring an additional 9,822 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at about $97,288,000. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 1.1 %

WTRG stock traded up $0.44 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $41.09. The company had a trading volume of 1,295,195 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,586,344. Essential Utilities has a 1 year low of $32.07 and a 1 year high of $41.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $11.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.47, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a 50 day moving average of $38.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.06.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $612.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $747.44 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 29.52%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Essential Utilities will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th will be paid a $0.3255 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 12th. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.29%.

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.