Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Given New $45.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) had its price objective raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $42.00 to $45.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Separately, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Essential Utilities from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $43.40.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of WTRG stock opened at $41.49 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $11.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.66, a PEG ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $38.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Essential Utilities has a 12 month low of $32.07 and a 12 month high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.03). Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 29.52%. The business had revenue of $612.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $747.44 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Essential Utilities will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th will be given a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is 61.61%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,342 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.43, for a total transaction of $87,661.06. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 53,391 shares in the company, valued at $1,998,425.13. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essential Utilities

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WTRG. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 17,553.7% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,425,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,156,000 after acquiring an additional 3,405,947 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter worth $97,288,000. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. purchased a new position in Essential Utilities in the 1st quarter valued at $46,280,000. UBS Group AG increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 271.9% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,225,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,785,000 after buying an additional 896,223 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Essential Utilities by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,992,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,045,504,000 after buying an additional 823,495 shares during the last quarter. 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.