Brokerages Set Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Target Price at $43.33

Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $43.50.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. 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. UBS Group decreased their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 51,881 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,001,000 after purchasing an additional 803 shares during the period. Synergy Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 92.8% in the 4th quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 148,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,529,000 after buying an additional 71,222 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,811,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,134,000 after buying an additional 972,803 shares in the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,585,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,152,000 after buying an additional 84,596 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at $638,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 3.5 %

Shares of WTRG opened at $39.81 on Wednesday. Essential Utilities has a 12-month low of $33.18 and a 12-month high of $41.78. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $10.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.79. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $35.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.80.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $604.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $698.77 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Essential Utilities will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is 59.91%.

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.