Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Cut to “Hold” at Baird R W

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

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on WTRG. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research upgraded Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Barclays lifted their price objective on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (down from $46.00) on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Essential Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.57.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 3.6%

Shares of NYSE:WTRG opened at $39.10 on Monday. Essential Utilities has a 52 week low of $33.18 and a 52 week high of $42.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.73. The company has a market capitalization of $10.97 billion, a PE ratio of 16.78, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $39.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.79.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.09. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The company had revenue of $514.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $462.70 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.28 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Essential Utilities will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.3426 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is 58.80%.

Institutional Trading of Essential Utilities

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SouthState Corp raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 834.7% during the second quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 701 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 626 shares in the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust bought a new position in Essential Utilities in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.