Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. Sells 1,283 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. trimmed its position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 4.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 26,459 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,283 shares during the quarter. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $1,021,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 7.3% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 29,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,128,000 after purchasing an additional 1,985 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 353,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,412,000 after buying an additional 8,988 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 117.3% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,962,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,701,000 after buying an additional 1,059,320 shares during the period. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Essential Utilities by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 76,798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,962,000 after buying an additional 4,448 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 47,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,816,000 after acquiring an additional 4,666 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Essential Utilities stock traded down $0.59 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $38.84. 1,143,465 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,526,408. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.95 and a twelve month high of $41.78. The company has a market cap of $10.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $39.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.43.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.02). Essential Utilities had a net margin of 28.74% and a return on equity of 8.16%. The firm had revenue of $434.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $442.76 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.34 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on WTRG. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Essential Utilities in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $44.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.80.

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.