Commerce Bank Buys 805 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Commerce Bank grew its stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 13.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,865 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 805 shares during the period. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $265,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the third quarter worth approximately $219,000. Lindenwold Advisors INC raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 4.8% during the third quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 7,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $306,000 after buying an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the third quarter worth approximately $630,000. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 6.0% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 66,382 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,560,000 after buying an additional 3,761 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the third quarter worth approximately $65,000. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WTRG shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.00.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 0.6 %

Essential Utilities stock opened at $40.29 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.06 billion, a PE ratio of 20.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.84. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $33.57 and a twelve month high of $41.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a 50 day moving average of $39.10 and a 200-day moving average of $38.87.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share 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 quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.30 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be issued a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.