Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the ten analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $43.2857.

Several analysts have issued reports on WTRG shares. Northcoast Research raised Essential Utilities from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $44.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays set a $38.00 price target on shares of Essential Utilities and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $45.00 price objective (down from $46.00) on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of WTRG stock opened at $39.69 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $38.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.99. Essential Utilities has a 12-month low of $35.96 and a 12-month high of $42.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $11.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.47 and a beta of 0.81.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be paid a $0.3426 dividend. This represents a $1.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 12th. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is 56.85%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter worth about $154,176,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 587.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,071,929 shares of the company’s stock worth $162,472,000 after buying an additional 3,479,762 shares during the last quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the third quarter valued at approximately $128,137,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 25.5% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,972,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $354,057,000 after buying an additional 1,822,306 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 33.4% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 6,335,695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $243,023,000 after acquiring an additional 1,586,622 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

About Essential Utilities

Essential Utilities, Inc, formerly known as Aqua America, is a publicly traded water and natural gas utility holding company. Through its regulated water and wastewater subsidiaries, the company provides essential water services to residential, commercial and industrial customers. In addition, Essential Utilities delivers natural gas distribution services in Pennsylvania through its Peoples Gas subsidiary, offering integrated utility solutions under a unified corporate framework.

The company traces its roots to the Philadelphia Suburban Water Company, founded in 1886 to serve growing communities outside Philadelphia.