Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $43.50.

Several analysts have issued reports on WTRG shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, April 20th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Essential Utilities from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essential Utilities

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter worth $638,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter worth about $60,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 70,100 shares of the company's stock worth $2,546,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 108.2% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 150,332 shares of the company's stock worth $5,460,000 after purchasing an additional 78,121 shares during the period. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 104,213 shares of the company's stock worth $3,785,000 after purchasing an additional 7,929 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

WTRG traded down $0.72 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $37.33. The stock had a trading volume of 2,136,097 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,506,759. The company has a market cap of $10.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a fifty day moving average of $39.21 and a 200 day moving average of $37.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.55. Essential Utilities has a 1 year low of $33.18 and a 1 year high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.23. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The company had revenue of $783.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $713.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Essential Utilities will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.