Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Buys 29,461 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 510,053 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,461 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $19,673,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of WTRG. Versor Investments LP lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 22.7% during the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 28,679 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,106,000 after purchasing an additional 5,300 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Essential Utilities in the third quarter worth about $50,000. Tompkins Financial Corp raised its position in Essential Utilities by 21.7% in the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 1,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. bought a new stake in Essential Utilities in the third quarter worth about $187,000. Finally, Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Essential Utilities by 0.5% in the third quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,034,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,471,000 after acquiring an additional 10,560 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $38.60 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.60 billion, a PE ratio of 19.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $33.57 and a 12 month high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $416.95 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.30 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on WTRG. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities 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.