Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Receives $43.20 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eight ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation, one has issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $43.20.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on WTRG shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Barclays set a $38.00 price target on Essential Utilities and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE:WTRG opened at $40.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.80. Essential Utilities has a fifty-two week low of $36.32 and a fifty-two week high of $42.37. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $39.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.13. The firm has a market cap of $11.34 billion, a PE ratio of 18.12 and a beta of 0.82.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $699.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $611.60 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 24.91% and a return on equity of 9.18%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.67 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Essential Utilities will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be given a $0.3426 dividend. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 12th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.99%.

Essential Utilities News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Essential Utilities this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks raised several forward-quarter and full-year EPS forecasts (small bumps to Q3/ Q4 2026 and Q3/ Q4 2027 and a modest lift to FY2027 to $2.39 from $2.38), signaling a slightly improved longer?term earnings outlook that could support valuation recovery. (Zacks research notes)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts’ consensus still shows a lower “current” full?year estimate (~$1.99), and the street’s average recommendation remains a “Hold,” indicating limited near-term bullish conviction. Analyst Ratings Article
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks cut short?term quarter forecasts (notably Q1 2026 and Q1 2027 estimates were trimmed), which raises concern about near-term earnings momentum and may drive short-term selling pressure. (Zacks research notes)
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage and commentary about recent merger headlines have prompted calls to “reassess” the stock, adding uncertainty around strategic direction and integration implications that can depress the share price. Is It Time To Reassess…

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WTRG. Apella Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 3.2% during the third quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 8,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ grew its stake in Essential Utilities by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ now owns 83,188 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,191,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 1.4% in the second quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 18,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $703,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Essential Utilities by 0.3% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 104,188 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,157,000 after buying an additional 271 shares during the period. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lifted its position in Essential Utilities by 2.3% during the third quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 13,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $520,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

About Essential Utilities

Essential Utilities, Inc, formerly known as Aqua America, is a publicly traded water and natural gas utility holding company. Through its regulated water and wastewater subsidiaries, the company provides essential water services to residential, commercial and industrial customers. In addition, Essential Utilities delivers natural gas distribution services in Pennsylvania through its Peoples Gas subsidiary, offering integrated utility solutions under a unified corporate framework.

The company traces its roots to the Philadelphia Suburban Water Company, founded in 1886 to serve growing communities outside Philadelphia.