Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $43.50.

WTRG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Essential Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 20th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essential Utilities

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTRG. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 2,245,256 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 31.2% during the fourth 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 grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,317,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,526,000 after purchasing an additional 11,336 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,690,116 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,025,000 after purchasing an additional 236,250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,331,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,985,000 after purchasing an additional 601,026 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

NYSE WTRG opened at $38.87 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.85. Essential Utilities has a 52-week low of $33.18 and a 52-week high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $783.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $713.80 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The firm’s revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Essential Utilities will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.