Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Stock Has Average Target Price of $43.75 According to Brokerages

Shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $43.75.

WTRG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays upped their price target 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. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Essential Utilities to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Colleen Arnold sold 2,855 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.55, for a total value of $112,915.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 17,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $686,073.85. This represents a 14.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Essential Utilities

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Essential Partners LLC increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 29.9% in the first quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 1,234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 5.3% during the first quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 6,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 4.4% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,153 shares of the company’s stock worth $328,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 10,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $435,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the period. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 3,298 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,000 after buying an additional 366 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 1.8%

NYSE WTRG opened at $39.36 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.78. Essential Utilities has a one year low of $36.10 and a one year high of $42.51. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.17 billion, a PE ratio of 20.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.63.

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

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.3606 per share. This is a boost from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.3426. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 11th. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is presently 73.47%.

Essential Utilities Company Profile

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.