Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Cut to Equal Weight at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report published on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $39.00 target price on the stock, down from their previous target price of $43.00.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.20.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WTRG opened at $35.27 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.69 billion, a PE ratio of 17.64, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. Essential Utilities has a 1-year low of $33.57 and a 1-year high of $41.78. The business’s 50 day moving average is $38.29 and its 200-day moving average is $38.86.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $435.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $416.95 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The business’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.30 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Essential Utilities will post 2.01 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, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.69%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.00%.

Institutional Trading of Essential Utilities

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 51,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,001,000 after acquiring an additional 803 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 2.5% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 881,658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,912,000 after acquiring an additional 21,804 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 18.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,500,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,002,000 after acquiring an additional 234,857 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Essential Utilities by 5.6% in the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,585,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,152,000 after purchasing an additional 84,596 shares during the period. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 2nd quarter worth about $708,000. 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.