Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Robert W. Baird Analyst Says

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) had its price objective lifted by Robert W. Baird from $45.00 to $46.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the stock.

WTRG has been the topic of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Essential Utilities in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $44.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.00.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of Essential Utilities stock opened at $39.67 on Wednesday. Essential Utilities has a 12 month low of $33.28 and a 12 month high of $41.78. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $39.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.70. The firm has a market cap of $10.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The business had revenue of $435.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.95 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.30 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Essential Utilities will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 14,243 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Essential Utilities by 61.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 4.5% in the second quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,947 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the period. Tompkins Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 21.7% in the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 1,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 10.6% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 3,477 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.