Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Rating Increased to Buy at Edward Jones

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) was upgraded by equities researchers at Edward Jones from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Friday, MarketBeat reports.

Several other research firms also recently commented on WTRG. TheStreet downgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Friday, September 15th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 4th. Northcoast Research raised Essential Utilities from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 28th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on Essential Utilities in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.25.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

WTRG stock opened at $35.82 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Essential Utilities has a 12 month low of $32.07 and a 12 month high of $49.89. The firm has a market cap of $9.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $35.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.88.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 7th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 20.25% and a return on equity of 8.54%. The firm had revenue of $436.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $469.07 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.31 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essential Utilities

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 15.7% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 11,774 shares of the company’s stock valued at $602,000 after buying an additional 1,602 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 80.7% in the first quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 37,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,932,000 after purchasing an additional 16,871 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 12.1% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,186,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,662,000 after purchasing an additional 127,695 shares during the period. Aviva PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the first quarter valued at $5,907,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 3,972.9% in the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 524,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,828,000 after purchasing an additional 511,825 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.01% 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.