Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Sunday.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WTRG opened at $40.50 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $38.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.88. The company has a market cap of $11.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.25, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.80. Essential Utilities has a twelve month low of $33.18 and a twelve month high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. The company had revenue of $604.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $698.77 million. Research analysts predict that Essential Utilities will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a $0.3255 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is presently 59.91%.

Institutional Trading of Essential Utilities

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,061,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,091,820,000 after acquiring an additional 2,245,256 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings 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 valued at $247,134,000 after purchasing an additional 972,803 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings 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 valued at $244,296,000 after purchasing an additional 1,597,672 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position 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 buying an additional 11,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Essential Utilities by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,690,116 shares of the company’s stock worth $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.

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.