Sanctuary Advisors LLC Makes New $630,000 Investment in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 17,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $630,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 24.7% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 152,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,636,000 after acquiring an additional 30,152 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 12.1% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 139,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,171,000 after acquiring an additional 15,009 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 17,553.7% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,425,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $126,156,000 after acquiring an additional 3,405,947 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 1st quarter valued at $46,280,000. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 350.3% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 903,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,723,000 after buying an additional 702,760 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $39.90 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $10.91 billion, a PE ratio of 18.91, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.42 and a 1-year high of $41.78. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $38.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.21.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.02). Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.16% and a net margin of 28.74%. The business had revenue of $434.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $442.76 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.34 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This is a boost from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is 61.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $44.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Friday, September 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.80.

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.