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

Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the six analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $43.50.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, April 20th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the first quarter worth $598,000. Swedbank AB increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 24.7% in the first quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 368,485 shares of the company's stock worth $14,566,000 after acquiring an additional 73,034 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 13.8% in the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 67,762 shares of the company's stock worth $2,679,000 after acquiring an additional 8,234 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 11.2% in the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 8,131 shares of the company's stock worth $321,000 after acquiring an additional 818 shares during the period. Finally, Intrua Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities during the first quarter worth $421,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 0.6%

Essential Utilities stock traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $37.10. The company had a trading volume of 2,015,310 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,692,786. The firm has a market cap of $10.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.65. Essential Utilities has a 1 year low of $33.18 and a 1 year high of $41.78. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $38.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.71.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.23. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.17% and a return on equity of 9.81%. The firm 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 company's revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current 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.