Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Downgraded by Wells Fargo & Company to Equal Weight

Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note released on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $39.00 price objective on the stock, down from their prior price objective of $43.00.

WTRG has been the subject of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.20.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of WTRG stock opened at $35.27 on Tuesday. Essential Utilities has a fifty-two week low of $33.57 and a fifty-two week high of $41.78. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $38.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market cap of $9.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.64, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.86.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $435.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $416.95 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.30 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Essential Utilities will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essential Utilities

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 4,309.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,255,483 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,424,000 after buying an additional 1,227,010 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 117.3% in the third quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,962,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,701,000 after acquiring an additional 1,059,320 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,811,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,134,000 after acquiring an additional 972,803 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Essential Utilities during the third quarter worth $30,842,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 33.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 953,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,795,000 after purchasing an additional 237,096 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.