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

Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) have received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the five analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $43.00.

Separately, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 6th.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WTRG opened at $40.03 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $37.75 and its 200 day moving average is $36.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.62. The company has a market capitalization of $10.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.83. Essential Utilities has a fifty-two week low of $32.07 and a fifty-two week high of $43.26.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $612.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $747.44 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 29.52%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Essential Utilities will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essential Utilities

In other Essential Utilities news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,023 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.56, for a total transaction of $73,960.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 13,358 shares in the company, valued at $488,368.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,023 shares of Essential Utilities stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.56, for a total value of $73,960.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 13,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $488,368.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,342 shares of Essential Utilities stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.43, for a total transaction of $87,661.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 53,391 shares in the company, valued at $1,998,425.13. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Essential Utilities

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Essential Utilities by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,992,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,045,504,000 after purchasing an additional 823,495 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Essential Utilities by 17,553.7% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,425,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $126,156,000 after purchasing an additional 3,405,947 shares in the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. boosted its stake in Essential Utilities by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 3,069,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,641,000 after purchasing an additional 313,277 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Essential Utilities by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,918,202 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,182,000 after purchasing an additional 166,891 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter worth about $97,288,000. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

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.