Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Downgraded by Zacks Research to "Hold"

Key Points

• Essential Utilities has been downgraded from a "strong-buy" to a "hold" rating by Zacks Research, amid mixed analyst opinions on the stock.
• Despite the downgrade, Robert W. Baird and UBS Group have increased their target prices to $47.00, maintaining positive ratings for the stock.
• Essential Utilities reported quarterly earnings of $0.38 EPS, exceeding the estimated $0.29, with revenues increasing by 18.5% year-over-year to $514.91 million.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Monday, August 25th,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on WTRG. 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 report on Friday, August 15th. 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 report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Essential Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $44.50.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Essential Utilities stock traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $39.55. 2,721,209 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,087,314. Essential Utilities has a 52-week low of $33.18 and a 52-week high of $41.65. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $37.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.73. The company has a market cap of $11.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.97, a PEG ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.83.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.09. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 27.62%.The business had revenue of $514.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $462.70 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.28 earnings per share. The firm'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. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Essential Utilities will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essential Utilities

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

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.