Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $45.67 and last traded at $45.8110, with a volume of 102,856 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $45.13.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Essential Utilities from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 1.2%

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $41.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.56. The stock has a market cap of $12.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.62. 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 released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.05. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.23% and a net margin of 21.60%. The firm had revenue of $508.26 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $450.44 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.33 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be given a $0.3606 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 10th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.36%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jacobi Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.3% during the third quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 73,382 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,876,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Essential Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 29.9% in the 1st quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 1,234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 6,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $252,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the period. North Dakota State Investment Board raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board now owns 8,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $340,000 after buying an additional 333 shares during the period. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 3.3% during the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 10,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $435,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Company Profile

Essential Utilities, Inc is a regulated utility company that provides water, wastewater and natural gas services to residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers. Through its Aqua and Peoples operations, the company owns and operates water and wastewater systems, natural gas distribution networks and related infrastructure. Its services include the treatment and delivery of drinking water, collection and treatment of wastewater, and the distribution of natural gas.

The company serves customers across several U.S.