Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Given “Buy” Rating at Bank of America

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by research analysts at Bank of America in a note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $45.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 18.42% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.50.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $38.00 on Friday. Essential Utilities has a 1-year low of $32.07 and a 1-year high of $41.78. The company has a 50-day moving average of $39.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.92. The company has a market cap of $10.40 billion, a PE ratio of 18.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $434.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $442.76 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 28.74% and a return on equity of 8.16%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.34 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Essential Utilities will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Essential Utilities

In other news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,342 shares of Essential Utilities stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.43, for a total transaction of $87,661.06. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 53,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,998,425.13. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essential Utilities

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WTRG. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 3,405,947 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at about $97,288,000. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the first quarter valued at about $46,280,000. UBS Group AG boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 271.9% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,225,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,785,000 after buying an additional 896,223 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,992,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,045,504,000 after buying an additional 823,495 shares in the last quarter. 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.