Commerce Bank Has $265,000 Stock Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Commerce Bank raised its holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 13.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,865 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 805 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $265,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTRG. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. bought a new stake in Essential Utilities in the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 81.2% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Bfsg LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 157.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 1,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 727 shares during the period. Finally, Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter valued at about $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTRG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price 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 company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.00.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of WTRG stock opened at $40.29 on Thursday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.57 and a 12-month high of $41.78. The company has a market capitalization of $11.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $39.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.87. 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 (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $416.95 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.30 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.