Coston McIsaac & Partners Raises Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Coston McIsaac & Partners raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 107,694 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,915 shares during the period. Coston McIsaac & Partners’ holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $4,153,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blossom Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Blossom Wealth Management now owns 14,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $570,000 after buying an additional 465 shares during the period. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the third quarter valued at about $1,901,000. Cetera Trust Company N.A grew its position in Essential Utilities by 12.6% in the third quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A now owns 4,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp grew its position in Essential Utilities by 44.4% in the third quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 73,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,831,000 after acquiring an additional 22,560 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in Essential Utilities in the third quarter worth about $25,000. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of Essential Utilities stock traded down $0.30 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $40.19. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 298,541 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,523,319. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.78 and a 1-year high of $41.78. The business has a fifty day moving average of $39.07 and a 200 day moving average of $38.38. The company has a market capitalization of $11.00 billion, a PE ratio of 19.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

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

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This is a boost from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WTRG. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $44.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI upped 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. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.80.

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.