J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Sells 790 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,447 shares of the company’s stock after selling 790 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $750,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on WTRG shares. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $44.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.80.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of WTRG stock opened at $38.51 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $39.03 and a 200-day moving average of $38.51. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a one year low of $32.95 and a one year high of $41.78. The company has a market cap of $10.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.84.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $442.76 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.34 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.41%.

About Essential Utilities

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.