Stifel Financial Corp Raises Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 0.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 137,409 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 336 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $5,300,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WTRG. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Essential Utilities by 14.7% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,000 after buying an additional 791 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 14.5% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 42,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,584,000 after purchasing an additional 5,363 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in Essential Utilities by 13.0% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 140,789 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,256,000 after purchasing an additional 16,231 shares in the last quarter. First Pacific Financial raised its position in Essential Utilities by 7.6% in the second quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 16,164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $603,000 after purchasing an additional 1,135 shares during the period. Finally, SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the second quarter worth about $295,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WTRG. 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. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.00.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 1.0 %

WTRG stock opened at $38.69 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.94. The company has a market capitalization of $10.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.35, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.85. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $33.57 and a twelve month high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.30 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th 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 is Monday, February 10th. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 65.00%.

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.