Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

WTRG has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 23rd. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.50.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of WTRG opened at $39.84 on Monday. Essential Utilities has a twelve month low of $33.18 and a twelve month high of $41.65. The company has a market cap of $11.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.39.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.09. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The business had revenue of $514.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $462.70 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.28 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Essential Utilities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.070-2.110 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Essential Utilities will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.3426 per share. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 12th. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.80%.

Institutional Trading of Essential Utilities

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WTRG. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at about $638,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Essential Utilities by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,601,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,170,000 after buying an additional 27,641 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Essential Utilities by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 173,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,290,000 after buying an additional 15,131 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 6,594 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 696 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 80.8% during the 4th quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 59,528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,162,000 after purchasing an additional 26,611 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.