Capital Market Strategies LLC Buys 8,800 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Capital Market Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 166.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 14,100 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,800 shares during the period. Capital Market Strategies LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $512,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 803 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 2.5% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 881,658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,912,000 after purchasing an additional 21,804 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 18.6% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 5.6% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 2nd quarter worth about $708,000. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WTRG traded down $0.30 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $35.86. The company had a trading volume of 440,051 shares, compared to its average volume of 700,828. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a one year low of $33.57 and a one year high of $41.78. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $38.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market cap of $9.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.93, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.86.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $435.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $416.95 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WTRG shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $44.00 to $41.00 in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 note on Tuesday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.00.

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.