Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Stock Now Rated “Moderate Buy” by Sell-Side Analysts

Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $43.75.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group increased their target price on Essential Utilities from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Essential Utilities to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essential Utilities news, insider Colleen Arnold sold 2,855 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.55, for a total value of $112,915.25. Following the sale, the insider owned 17,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $686,073.85. This trade represents a 14.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essential Utilities

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Essential Utilities during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new position in Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the first quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 111.1% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 1.7%

NYSE:WTRG opened at $38.72 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.99 billion, a PE ratio of 19.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.63. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $40.48 and a 200-day moving average of $39.26. Essential Utilities has a 52 week low of $36.10 and a 52 week high of $42.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $530.85 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $538.90 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.23% and a net margin of 21.60%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. Analysts predict that Essential Utilities will post 2.21 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th were given a $0.3606 dividend. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.3426. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 73.47%.

About Essential Utilities

Essential Utilities, Inc is a regulated utility company that provides essential water, wastewater and natural gas services to residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers. Its water operations include the treatment, distribution and supply of drinking water, while its wastewater business manages the collection and treatment of sewage. The company also distributes natural gas through regulated utility operations.

The company serves customers across several U.S. states, including Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Texas, North Carolina, New Jersey, Indiana, Virginia, Georgia and West Virginia.