Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Price Target Lowered to $42.00 at UBS Group

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) had its price objective lowered by equities researchers at UBS Group from $45.00 to $42.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. UBS Group’s price target suggests a potential upside of 24.56% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on WTRG. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $44.00 to $41.00 in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Essential Utilities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $43.00 to $39.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

WTRG stock opened at $33.72 on Tuesday. Essential Utilities has a 1 year low of $33.18 and a 1 year high of $41.78. The company has a market cap of $9.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.86, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $37.97 and a 200 day moving average of $38.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.39.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essential Utilities

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTRG. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 4,309.4% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,255,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,424,000 after purchasing an additional 1,227,010 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 117.3% in the third quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,962,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,701,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059,320 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 972,803 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities in the third quarter worth approximately $30,842,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 33.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 953,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,795,000 after purchasing an additional 237,096 shares during the last quarter. 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.