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

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 28.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 60,605 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,518 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $2,338,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its stake in Essential Utilities by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 51,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,001,000 after purchasing an additional 803 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 881,658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,912,000 after buying an additional 21,804 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 18.6% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 5.6% during the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,585,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,152,000 after buying an additional 84,596 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,811,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,134,000 after acquiring an additional 972,803 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of WTRG stock opened at $34.18 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $37.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.55. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.18 and a 1 year high of $41.78. The firm 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 (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.30 EPS. Analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.