Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Shares Bought by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 6.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 510,053 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,461 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.19% of Essential Utilities worth $19,673,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTRG. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the second quarter worth $37,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 81.2% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares during the last quarter. Bfsg LLC boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 157.0% in the third quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 1,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 727 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in Essential Utilities in the third quarter valued at $50,000. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on WTRG shares. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Essential Utilities presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.00.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 0.9 %

WTRG stock opened at $38.60 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $39.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.39. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.57 and a 52-week high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The company had revenue of $435.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.95 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2.01 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.00%.

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.