Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by 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 received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $44.50.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on WTRG shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Essential Utilities from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Essential Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essential Utilities

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bfsg LLC grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 22.1% during the first quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 1,453 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 1.4% during the second quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 18,930 shares of the company's stock valued at $703,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Bernardo Wealth Planning LLC grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 2.6% during the second quarter. Bernardo Wealth Planning LLC now owns 11,626 shares of the company's stock valued at $432,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 24.7% during the first quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 1,531 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the period. Finally, Community Bank N.A. grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 1.3% during the first quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 23,928 shares of the company's stock valued at $946,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $39.10 on Wednesday. Essential Utilities has a twelve month low of $33.18 and a twelve month high of $41.65. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $37.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.38. The company has a market capitalization of $10.96 billion, a PE ratio of 16.78, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.78. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $462.70 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.28 EPS. The company's revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Essential Utilities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.070-2.110 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.3426 per share. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 12th. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio is currently 58.80%.

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.

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