Raymond James Trust N.A. Purchases 383 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 3.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,960 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 383 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $423,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in Essential Utilities in the third quarter worth $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in 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 buying an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities in the second quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 81.2% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 515 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.00.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Essential Utilities stock opened at $40.05 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $11.00 billion, a PE ratio of 20.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $39.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.86. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.57 and a 1 year high of $41.78. 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 (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $435.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $416.95 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. The company’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.30 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.00%.

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.