Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Rating Reiterated by Bank of America

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by analysts at Bank of America in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $45.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 17.49% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target 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 and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.50.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Essential Utilities stock opened at $38.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Essential Utilities has a one year low of $32.07 and a one year high of $41.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.15, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $39.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.88.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $434.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $442.76 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 28.74% and a return on equity of 8.16%. Essential Utilities’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.34 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Essential Utilities will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essential Utilities

In other news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,342 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.43, for a total value of $87,661.06. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 53,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,998,425.13. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Essential Utilities by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,281,232 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,857,000 after buying an additional 44,477 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter worth approximately $97,288,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 196,873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,353,000 after purchasing an additional 6,105 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its position in Essential Utilities by 271.9% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,225,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,785,000 after purchasing an additional 896,223 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 40.9% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 52,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,943,000 after purchasing an additional 15,110 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.