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

Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $43.50.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on WTRG shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, April 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Essential Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $41.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target 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 cut their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essential Utilities

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Essential Utilities in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. American National Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Essential Utilities during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, National Pension Service increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 75.0% during the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 950 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 0.4%

Essential Utilities stock traded up $0.16 on Monday, hitting $38.72. 437,594 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,464,077. Essential Utilities has a 1 year low of $33.18 and a 1 year high of $41.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $39.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.01. The firm has a market cap of $10.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.85.

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 for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $713.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.97 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Essential Utilities will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

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.