Jefferies Financial Group Downgrades Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) to Hold

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) was downgraded by research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a $41.00 price objective on the stock, down from their previous price objective of $44.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price indicates a potential upside of 3.35% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on WTRG. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.00.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

WTRG stock opened at $39.67 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $39.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.70. Essential Utilities has a 12-month low of $33.28 and a 12-month high of $41.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a market cap of $10.86 billion, a PE ratio of 19.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.84.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. The firm had revenue of $435.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $416.95 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.30 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Essential Utilities will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in Essential Utilities in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Essential Utilities in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 61.4% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities during the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 81.2% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 515 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.