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

Key Points

• Essential Utilities Inc. has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with five out of six analysts rating it a buy.
• The company recently reported a strong earnings performance, with $0.38 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations of $0.29.
• Essential Utilities has increased its quarterly dividend to $0.3426 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 3.5% and a payout ratio of 58.80%.

Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $44.50.

A number of research firms have weighed in on WTRG. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of 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 lowered shares of Essential Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th.

Institutional Trading of Essential Utilities

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

Essential Utilities Trading Up 0.0%

WTRG opened at $39.10 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $37.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.38. Essential Utilities has a 1-year low of $33.18 and a 1-year high of $41.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The business had revenue of $514.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $462.70 million. During the same period last year, the company 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. Analysts expect that Essential Utilities will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

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

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.