Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Given Consensus Rating of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) have earned an average rating of “Buy” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $43.00.

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Essential Utilities from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Essential Utilities from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 6th.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $38.53 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.54 billion, a PE ratio of 18.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.80. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $36.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.37. Essential Utilities has a 12-month low of $32.07 and a 12-month high of $43.26.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $479.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $708.50 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 29.52%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 32.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.44 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Essential Utilities will post 1.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Essential Utilities

In other news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.21, for a total value of $207,073.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 57,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,149,100.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Essential Utilities news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of Essential Utilities stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.21, for a total transaction of $207,073.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 57,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,149,100.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,023 shares of Essential Utilities stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.56, for a total value of $73,960.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 13,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $488,368.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Essential Utilities

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTRG. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 1,006.2% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 45,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,563,000 after buying an additional 41,406 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 79.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 869 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 19,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $668,000 after buying an additional 470 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,235,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 438,583 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,057,000 after buying an additional 22,152 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

About Essential Utilities

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.