Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy", with one analyst recommending a hold and five recommending buy.
• The company reported earnings of $0.38 per share for the last quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.29, and its revenue increased by 18.5% year-over-year.
• Essential Utilities has increased its quarterly dividend to $0.3426 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.5% for shareholders.

Shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $44.50.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Wall Street Zen raised Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Essential Utilities from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Essential Utilities from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 25th.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Essential Utilities stock traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $39.55. 2,721,209 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,087,314. Essential Utilities has a 1-year low of $33.18 and a 1-year high of $41.65. The company has a market capitalization of $11.09 billion, a PE ratio of 16.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a fifty day moving average of $38.00 and a 200 day moving average of $38.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.09. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 27.62%.The firm had revenue of $514.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $462.70 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. The business's revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Essential Utilities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.070-2.110 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Essential Utilities will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be paid a $0.3426 dividend. This is a boost from Essential Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $1.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.80%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WTRG. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Essential Utilities in the second quarter valued at approximately $102,347,000. Maple Brown Abbott Ltd bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the first quarter worth $94,251,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 1,572.4% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,271,201 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,212,000 after buying an additional 1,195,189 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,407,634 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,129,340,000 after buying an additional 693,988 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 74.6% in the 4th quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 1,593,053 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,860,000 after buying an additional 680,760 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company's stock.

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.