Assetmark Inc. Purchases New Shares in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Assetmark Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $187,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WTRG. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,947 shares of the company’s stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 5.4% in the first quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 6,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its position in Essential Utilities by 4.4% during the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 8,024 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Essential Utilities by 8.7% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,000 after buying an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $38.60 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.60 billion, a PE ratio of 19.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $33.57 and a twelve month high of $41.78. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.80.

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

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a $0.3255 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTRG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Evercore ISI raised their price target 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. Finally, 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 research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.00.

Essential Utilities 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.