Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Sets New 12-Month High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Essential Utilities shares reached a new 52-week high, trading as high as $43.97 and rising 2.1%. MarketBeat analysts rate the stock a “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $43.00.
• The company exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $0.38 versus the $0.37 consensus, while revenue rose 3.1% year over year to $530.85 million, slightly below estimates.
• Essential Utilities declared a quarterly dividend of $0.3606 per share, equivalent to a $1.44 annualized payout and a 3.3% yield. Institutional investors own approximately 74.78% of the company.

Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday. The stock traded as high as $43.97 and last traded at $43.6610, with a volume of 235,403 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.78.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on WTRG shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Essential Utilities to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Essential Utilities presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 2.1%

The firm's 50 day moving average price is $40.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market cap of $12.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.63.

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

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.3606 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Essential Utilities's payout ratio is 73.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essential Utilities news, insider Colleen Arnold sold 2,855 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $686,073.85. This represents a 14.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Essential Utilities during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,280,829,000. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,119,170 shares of the company's stock valued at $502,595,000 after purchasing an additional 687,688 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the second quarter worth approximately $134,247,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 1,224.0% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,233,682 shares of the company's stock valued at $126,728,000 after buying an additional 2,989,455 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Essential Utilities by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,881,490 shares of the company's stock worth $116,049,000 after acquiring an additional 106,252 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Essential Utilities

Essential Utilities, Inc is a regulated utility company that provides water, wastewater and natural gas services to residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers. Through its Aqua and Peoples operations, the company owns and operates water and wastewater systems, natural gas distribution networks and related infrastructure. Its services include the treatment and delivery of drinking water, collection and treatment of wastewater, and the distribution of natural gas.

The company serves customers across several U.S.

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