Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $41.70 and last traded at $41.26, with a volume of 283915 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.34.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective 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 raised shares of Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, October 11th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $45.17.
View Our Latest Research Report on WTRG
Essential Utilities Stock Up 0.4%
The company has a market capitalization of $11.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 0.82. 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 firm's fifty day moving average is $38.99 and its 200-day moving average is $38.64.
Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $514.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $462.70 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The firm's revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. Essential Utilities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.070-2.110 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.
Essential Utilities Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $0.3426 per share. This represents a $1.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 12th. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Essential Utilities's payout ratio is presently 58.80%.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essential Utilities
Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 2nd quarter valued at $102,347,000. Maple Brown Abbott Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 1st quarter valued at $94,251,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 1,195,189 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 693,988 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 1st quarter valued at $25,526,000. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Essential Utilities Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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