Analysts Set Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Price Target at $43.00

Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $43.00.

Separately, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Essential Utilities from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 6th.

Insider Activity at Essential Utilities

In other Essential Utilities news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,023 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.56, for a total value of $73,960.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 13,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $488,368.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Essential Utilities news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,023 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.56, for a total value of $73,960.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 13,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $488,368.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,342 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 53,391 shares in the company, valued at $1,998,425.13. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 857.5% during the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 699 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 626 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 604.0% during the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 711 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 78.9% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 737 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 4,210.0% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 862 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 842 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

WTRG stock opened at $40.03 on Friday. Essential Utilities has a 52-week low of $32.07 and a 52-week high of $43.26. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.83.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted 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. Equities research analysts expect that Essential Utilities will post 1.97 EPS for the current year.

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.