Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Shares Sold by Pathstone Holdings LLC

Pathstone Holdings LLC reduced its position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 3.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,217 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,329 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $1,397,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 4,309.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,255,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,424,000 after buying an additional 1,227,010 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 117.3% in the third quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,962,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,701,000 after acquiring an additional 1,059,320 shares in the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new position in Essential Utilities in the second quarter valued at about $11,853,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Essential Utilities by 18.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,500,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,002,000 after purchasing an additional 234,857 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,221,000. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WTRG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. 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. Evercore ISI boosted their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.00.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE WTRG opened at $40.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.55. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a one year low of $33.57 and a one year high of $41.78. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.06 billion, a PE ratio of 20.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.84.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $435.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.95 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. The business’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.30 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is 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.