JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has $36.80 Million Stock Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 33.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 953,984 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 237,096 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $36,795,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the third quarter worth $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in Essential Utilities by 61.4% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring 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 about $42,000. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of WTRG stock opened at $35.38 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $9.72 billion, a PE ratio of 17.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $38.36 and a 200-day moving average of $38.88. 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 one year low of $33.57 and a one year high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $435.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.95 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.30 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.68%. 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.