Quantinno Capital Management LP Raises Stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 19.9% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 12,156 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,014 shares during the quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $469,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WTRG. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 61.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the third quarter worth $42,000. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE:WTRG opened at $38.69 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.35, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50 day moving average of $39.34 and a 200 day moving average of $38.94. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.57 and a 1-year high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $435.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.95 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.30 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.00.

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.