Robert W. Baird Trims Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Target Price to $43.00

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) had its price target decreased by Robert W. Baird from $44.00 to $43.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

Separately, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Essential Utilities from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 0.1 %

Essential Utilities stock opened at $38.69 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $36.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.62. Essential Utilities has a one year low of $32.07 and a one year high of $43.74. The stock has a market cap of $10.58 billion, a PE ratio of 18.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.80.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 29.52%. The company had revenue of $479.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $708.50 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.44 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 32.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a $0.3071 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 58.29%.

Insider Transactions at Essential Utilities

In other Essential Utilities news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,023 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.56, for a total transaction of $73,960.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now 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 accessible through this link. In other Essential Utilities news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,023 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.56, for a total transaction of $73,960.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now 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 accessible through this link. Also, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.21, for a total value of $207,073.65. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 57,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,149,100.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essential Utilities

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTRG. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,992,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,045,504,000 after buying an additional 823,495 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 17,553.7% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,425,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,156,000 after buying an additional 3,405,947 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,386,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,267,000 after buying an additional 24,991 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 3,069,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,641,000 after buying an additional 313,277 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,918,202 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,182,000 after buying an additional 166,891 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

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.