Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Hits New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Essential Utilities shares reached a new 52-week high of $42.41, near the analyst consensus price target of $43.00. Ratings remain mixed, but the overall consensus is “Moderate Buy.”
• The company slightly exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $0.38 versus estimates of $0.37, while revenue rose 3.1% year over year to $530.85 million, below analyst forecasts.
• Essential Utilities increased its quarterly dividend to $0.3606 per share, equivalent to a 3.4% annual yield, while institutional investors own nearly 75% of the stock.

Shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $42.41 and last traded at $42.0060, with a volume of 142845 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $41.94.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Essential Utilities to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Essential Utilities from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Essential Utilities currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $39.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.23. The firm has a market cap of $11.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.23% and a net margin of 21.60%.The firm had revenue of $530.85 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $538.90 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. Essential Utilities's revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 11th were paid a dividend of $0.3606 per share. This is a boost from Essential Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 11th. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essential Utilities news, insider Colleen Arnold sold 2,855 shares of Essential Utilities stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.55, for a total value of $112,915.25. Following the transaction, the insider owned 17,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $686,073.85. The trade was a 14.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essential Utilities

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the second quarter valued at $1,280,829,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,833,175 shares of the company's stock worth $530,641,000 after purchasing an additional 241,176 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 3,456.6% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 11,969,002 shares of the company's stock worth $458,532,000 after buying an additional 11,632,469 shares during the period. Amundi raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 33.4% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 6,335,695 shares of the company's stock worth $243,023,000 after buying an additional 1,586,622 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,233,715 shares of the company's stock valued at $200,197,000 after buying an additional 120,947 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Company Profile

Essential Utilities, Inc, formerly known as Aqua America, is a publicly traded water and natural gas utility holding company. Through its regulated water and wastewater subsidiaries, the company provides essential water services to residential, commercial and industrial customers. In addition, Essential Utilities delivers natural gas distribution services in Pennsylvania through its Peoples Gas subsidiary, offering integrated utility solutions under a unified corporate framework.

The company traces its roots to the Philadelphia Suburban Water Company, founded in 1886 to serve growing communities outside Philadelphia.

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