Investors with the goal of beating the broader market often turn to stock selection. Strategic choices in individual stocks can have a profound impact on your wealth.
The price of Essential Utilities Inc (NYSE: WTRG) closed at $37.89 in the last session, up 0.64% from day before closing price of $37.65. In other words, the price has increased by $0.64 from its previous closing price. On the day, 1.47 million shares were traded. WTRG stock price reached its highest trading level at $37.97 during the session, while it also had its lowest trading level at $37.33.
Ratios:
We take a closer look at WTRG’s different ratios to gain a better understanding of the stock. For the most recent quarter (mrq), Quick Ratio is recorded 0.57 and its Current Ratio is at 0.65. In the meantime, Its Debt-to-Equity ratio is 1.20 whereas as Long-Term Debt/Eq ratio is at 1.17.
On January 07, 2025, Wells Fargo Downgraded its rating to Equal Weight which previously was Overweight and also lowered its target price recommendation from $43 to $39.
Jefferies Downgraded its Buy to Hold on November 07, 2024, whereas the target price for the stock was revised from $44 to $41.
Insider Transactions:
An investor can also benefit from insider trades by learning what management is thinking about the future direction of stock prices. A recent insider transaction in this stock occurred on Mar 14 ’25 when Franklin Chris sold 7,700 shares for $39.40 per share. The transaction valued at 303,380 led to the insider holds 32,229 shares of the business.
Chris Franklin bought 7,700 shares of WTRG for $303,380 on Mar 14 ’25. On Jul 01 ’24, another insider, RUBIN ROBERT A, who serves as the Chief Accounting Officer of the company, sold 2,342 shares for $37.43 each. As a result, the insider received 87,661 and left with 53,391 shares of the company.
Valuation Measures:
Investors should consider key stock statistics when deciding whether to invest or divest. In the wake of the recent closing price, WTRG now has a Market Capitalization of 10622006272 and an Enterprise Value of 18390548480. As of this moment, Essential’s Price-to-Earnings (P/E) ratio for their current fiscal year is 17.00, and their Forward P/E ratio for the next fiscal year is 17.01. The expected Price-to-Earnings-to-Growth (PEG) calculation for the next 5 years is 2.58. For the stock, the TTM Price-to-Sale (P/S) ratio is 4.70 while its Price-to-Book (P/B) ratio in mrq is 1.62. Its current Enterprise Value per Revenue stands at 8.146 whereas that against EBITDA is 14.834.
Stock Price History:
The Beta on a monthly basis for WTRG is 0.80, which has changed by 0.02405405 over the last 52 weeks, in comparison to a change of 0.11730647 over the same period for the S&P500. Over the past 52 weeks, WTRG has reached a high of $41.78, while it has fallen to a 52-week low of $33.18. The 50-Day Moving Average of the stock is -3.72%, while the 200-Day Moving Average is calculated to be -1.12%.
Shares Statistics:
According to the various share statistics, WTRG traded on average about 1.71M shares per day over the past 3-months and 1985560 shares per day over the past 10 days. A total of 280.34M shares are outstanding, with a floating share count of 279.57M. Insiders hold about 0.27% of the company’s shares, while institutions hold 77.82% stake in the company. Shares short for WTRG as of 1747267200 were 4362965 with a Short Ratio of 2.55, compared to 1744675200 on 5391415. Therefore, it implies a Short% of Shares Outstanding of 4362965 and a Short% of Float of 1.7500000000000002.
Dividends & Splits
The forward annual dividend rate for WTRG is 1.30, which was 1.284 in the trailing 12 months. Against a Trailing Annual Dividend Yield of 0.034112647The stock’s 5-year Average Dividend Yield is 2.66. The current Payout Ratio is 58.32% for WTRG, which recently paid a dividend on 2025-05-13 with an ex-dividend date of 1747094400. Stock splits for the company last occurred on 2013-09-03 when the company split stock in a 5:4 ratio.
