Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $43.25 According to Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts give Essential Utilities a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with eight analysts setting an average 12-month price target of $43.25. Ratings include three buys, one strong buy, three holds and one sell.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $0.38, slightly above expectations, while revenue reached $530.85 million, up 3.1% year over year but below analyst estimates.
• Essential Utilities announced a quarterly dividend of $0.3606 per share, representing a $1.44 annualized payout and 3.3% yield; institutional investors own approximately 74.78% of the stock.

Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eight analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $43.25.

WTRG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 16th. Wall Street Zen raised Essential Utilities to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Essential Utilities stock opened at $43.15 on Monday. Essential Utilities has a 52 week low of $36.10 and a 52 week high of $43.61. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The stock has a market cap of $12.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.01, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.63.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $530.85 million during 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 revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.38 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Essential Utilities will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.3606 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.47%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Colleen Arnold sold 2,855 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.55, for a total transaction of $112,915.25. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 17,347 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $686,073.85. This trade represents a 14.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essential Utilities

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Essential Utilities in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the first quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 2nd quarter valued at $43,000. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Essential Utilities

Essential Utilities, Inc is a regulated utility company that provides water, wastewater and natural gas services to residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers. Through its Aqua and Peoples operations, the company owns and operates water and wastewater systems, natural gas distribution networks and related infrastructure. Its services include the treatment and delivery of drinking water, collection and treatment of wastewater, and the distribution of natural gas.

The company serves customers across several U.S.

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