Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) has received a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the four brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $43.00.

Separately, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Essential Utilities from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 4th.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of WTRG opened at $36.09 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $35.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.82. Essential Utilities has a 1-year low of $32.07 and a 1-year high of $43.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $479.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $708.50 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.68% and a net margin of 24.26%. Essential Utilities’s revenue was down 32.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.44 EPS. Analysts expect that Essential Utilities will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.3071 dividend. This is an increase from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $1.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.13%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.21, for a total value of $207,073.65. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 57,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,149,100.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essential Utilities

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 857.5% in the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 626 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 604.0% in the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 610 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 78.9% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 4,210.0% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 842 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Company Profile

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.