Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) shares hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $42.41 and last traded at $42.0060, with a volume of 142845 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $41.94.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on WTRG. UBS Group raised their price objective on Essential Utilities from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen raised Essential Utilities to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Weiss Ratings raised Essential Utilities from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold 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 price target of $43.75.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 0.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $40.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.27. The firm has a market cap of $11.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.64.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.23% and a net margin of 21.60%.The company had revenue of $530.85 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $538.90 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.3606 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 11th. This is an increase from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 73.47%.

Insider Activity at Essential Utilities

In other news, insider Colleen Arnold sold 2,855 shares of Essential Utilities stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $686,073.85. The trade was a 14.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,280,829,000. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 3,456.6% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 11,969,002 shares of the company’s stock worth $458,532,000 after acquiring an additional 11,632,469 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter worth $154,176,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Essential Utilities in the second quarter worth $134,247,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities in the second quarter valued at $92,467,000. 74.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Essential Utilities

Essential Utilities, Inc (NYSE: WTRG) 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 and distribution of drinking water, while its wastewater operations collect and treat sewage. The company’s natural gas business distributes gas through regulated utility networks.

The company operates primarily through its Aqua and Peoples businesses.