Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Holdings Raised by Toth Financial Advisory Corp

Toth Financial Advisory Corp grew its position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 18.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 86,756 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,362 shares during the quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $3,151,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WTRG. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Essential Utilities by 1.8% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 14,243 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Essential Utilities by 61.4% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp boosted its stake in Essential Utilities by 21.7% during the third 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 boosted its stake in Essential Utilities by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $180,000 after buying an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 10.6% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 3,477 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 0.3 %

Essential Utilities stock opened at $33.49 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $37.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.58. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.18 and a 52 week high of $41.78. 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 capitalization of $9.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.86.

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

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.89%. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is presently 65.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on WTRG shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Essential Utilities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $43.00 to $39.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.00.

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.