Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Shares Bought by Hennessy Advisors Inc.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 175,500 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,800 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned 0.06% of Essential Utilities worth $6,374,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group lowered 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut Essential Utilities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $43.00 to $39.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, 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 research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:WTRG opened at $35.07 on Friday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.18 and a 52-week high of $41.78. The stock has a market cap of $9.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.54, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a fifty day moving average of $37.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The firm had revenue of $435.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.95 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.30 earnings per share. Essential Utilities’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is presently 65.00%.

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.