Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Hits New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $33.38 and last traded at $33.51, with a volume of 268341 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.08.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WTRG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Essential Utilities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $43.00 to $39.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 1.3 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market cap of $9.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.09, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.75.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $435.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.95 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $0.3255 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.81%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.00%.

Institutional Trading of Essential Utilities

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WTRG. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.8% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 14,243 shares of the company’s stock worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 61.4% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 21.7% during the 3rd quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 1,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $180,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in Essential Utilities by 10.6% in the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 3,477 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.