Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Shares Acquired by Farther Finance Advisors LLC

Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 81.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,149 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 515 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $44,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the third quarter worth $25,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities in the second quarter valued at $37,000. Bfsg LLC boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 157.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 1,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 727 shares in the last quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 2nd quarter worth about $66,000. Finally, Cultivar Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Essential Utilities in the second quarter valued at approximately $70,000. 74.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:WTRG opened at $38.26 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $10.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.13, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.84. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.57 and a fifty-two week high of $41.78. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $435.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.30 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 65.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WTRG. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group cut Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price 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. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.00.

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.