Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Shares Bought by New Age Alpha Advisors LLC

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 24.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,531 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $61,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTRG. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $638,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,383,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 98.9% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 778 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 110,723 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,021,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 55.5% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 14,924 shares of the company’s stock worth $542,000 after acquiring an additional 5,324 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on WTRG shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Essential Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.67.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE WTRG opened at $39.02 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $37.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.12. The company has a market capitalization of $10.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.78. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 12 month low of $33.18 and a 12 month high of $41.65.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $514.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $462.70 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The company’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.3426 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $1.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. This is an increase from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.79%.

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.