Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Downgraded by Barclays to “Underweight”

Barclays cut shares of Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) from an overweight rating to an underweight rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has $38.00 target price on the stock, down from their previous target price of $43.00.

Several other research firms also recently commented on WTRG. Zacks Research raised shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Baird R W lowered Essential Utilities from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (down previously from $46.00) on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.29.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of WTRG stock opened at $39.02 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $39.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.58. 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 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.19 and a beta of 0.81.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.06. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 28.09%.The business had revenue of $476.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $472.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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 was paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th were given a $0.3426 dividend. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 12th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.85%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essential Utilities

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WTRG. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $638,000. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 28.2% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 498,669 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,713,000 after buying an additional 109,582 shares during the period. Greenland Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 155.9% during the second quarter. Greenland Capital Management LP now owns 465,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,300,000 after buying an additional 283,790 shares during the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,918,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 543,918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,201,000 after acquiring an additional 7,200 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

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.