Robert W. Baird Has Lowered Expectations for Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Stock Price

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) had its price target lowered by Robert W. Baird from $47.00 to $46.00 in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on WTRG. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Essential Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $41.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, April 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Essential Utilities currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of Essential Utilities stock traded up $0.72 on Tuesday, hitting $38.88. The company had a trading volume of 1,308,447 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,470,892. Essential Utilities has a twelve month low of $33.18 and a twelve month high of $41.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $39.47 and a 200-day moving average of $37.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.85.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $783.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $713.80 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.97 EPS. Research analysts predict that Essential Utilities will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be given a $0.3255 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. Essential Utilities's payout ratio is 58.30%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,061,135 shares of the company's stock worth $1,091,820,000 after purchasing an additional 2,245,256 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 6,726,215 shares of the company's stock worth $244,296,000 after buying an additional 1,597,672 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,317,312 shares of the company's stock worth $156,526,000 after buying an additional 11,336 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Essential Utilities by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,690,116 shares of the company's stock valued at $134,025,000 after buying an additional 236,250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Essential Utilities by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,331,090 shares of the company's stock valued at $120,985,000 after buying an additional 601,026 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.