Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Shares Bought by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 28.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 60,605 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,518 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $2,338,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 4.4% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 95,426 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,562,000 after purchasing an additional 3,987 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Essential Utilities by 18.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,500,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,002,000 after buying an additional 234,857 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 21,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $818,000 after acquiring an additional 1,239 shares during the period. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 6.8% in the second quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 6,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,000 after acquiring an additional 426 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 3.2% during the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 141,586 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,285,000 after acquiring an additional 4,439 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 1.3 %

WTRG opened at $34.18 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $9.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.09, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.86. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a one year low of $33.18 and a one year high of $41.78. The business’s fifty day moving average is $37.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.75.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $435.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.95 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.30 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.81%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on WTRG. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Essential Utilities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $43.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

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.