23,640 Shares in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Bought by Everence Capital Management Inc.

Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 23,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $859,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WTRG. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 14,243 shares of the company’s stock worth $549,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in Essential Utilities by 61.4% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp grew its position in Essential Utilities by 21.7% in the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 1,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Essential Utilities by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $180,000 after buying an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 3,477 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded 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. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target 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. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.00.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 0.3 %

WTRG opened at $36.16 on Friday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.57 and a 1-year high of $41.78. The stock has a market cap of $9.93 billion, a PE ratio of 18.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.85. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.39 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. The business 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%. Essential Utilities’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.30 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 3.60%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.00%.

About Essential Utilities

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.