Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Upgraded at StockNews.com

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Sunday.

WTRG has been the topic of several other reports. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE WTRG opened at $40.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.39. Essential Utilities has a 1-year low of $33.18 and a 1-year high of $41.78. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.16 billion, a PE ratio of 20.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.80.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. The firm had revenue of $604.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $698.77 million. On average, research analysts predict that Essential Utilities will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Essential Utilities

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter worth about $102,600,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Essential Utilities by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,061,135 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,091,820,000 after acquiring an additional 2,245,256 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 6,726,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $244,296,000 after acquiring an additional 1,597,672 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $52,355,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,811,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,134,000 after acquiring an additional 972,803 shares in the last quarter. 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.