Essential Utilities’ (WTRG) “Hold (C)” Rating Reiterated at Weiss Ratings

Weiss Ratings reiterated their hold (c) rating on shares of Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) in a report released on Wednesday morning,Weiss Ratings reports.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on WTRG. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $42.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.17.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

NYSE WTRG opened at $40.69 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.73. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $38.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.60. Essential Utilities has a 52-week low of $33.18 and a 52-week high of $41.65. The company has a market cap of $11.41 billion, a PE ratio of 17.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.82.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.09. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The firm had revenue of $514.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $462.70 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.28 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Essential Utilities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.070-2.110 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Essential Utilities will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were given a $0.3426 dividend. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 12th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.80%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essential Utilities

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Flputnam Investment Management Co. increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 514,296 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,520,000 after buying an additional 64,338 shares during the period. Secure Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 41.7% in the 3rd quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 48,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,896,000 after purchasing an additional 14,384 shares during the last quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 127,799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,099,000 after purchasing an additional 17,504 shares during the last quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter valued at $290,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 40.2% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 215,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,588,000 after buying an additional 61,690 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.