Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $43.25

Shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $43.00.

A number of research analysts recently commented on WTRG shares. Weiss Ratings raised Essential Utilities from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Essential Utilities from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Wall Street Zen raised Essential Utilities to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essential Utilities

In other news, insider Colleen Arnold sold 2,855 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.55, for a total value of $112,915.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 17,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $686,073.85. This represents a 14.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Essential Partners LLC grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 29.9% during the 1st quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 1,234 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp increased its position in Essential Utilities by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 6,251 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares during the period. North Dakota State Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 4.0% during the third quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board now owns 8,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $340,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 4.4% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $328,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 3.3% during the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 10,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $435,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:WTRG opened at $42.27 on Monday. Essential Utilities has a 12-month low of $36.10 and a 12-month high of $43.61. The stock has a market cap of $11.99 billion, a PE ratio of 21.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.63. The business has a 50 day moving average of $40.65 and a 200-day moving average of $39.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $530.85 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $538.90 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.23% and a net margin of 21.60%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.38 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Essential Utilities will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.3606 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 10th. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is 73.47%.

About Essential Utilities

Essential Utilities, Inc is a regulated utility company that provides water, wastewater and natural gas services to residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers. Through its Aqua and Peoples operations, the company owns and operates water and wastewater systems, natural gas distribution networks and related infrastructure. Its services include the treatment and delivery of drinking water, collection and treatment of wastewater, and the distribution of natural gas.

The company serves customers across several U.S.