New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Invests $45,000 in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTRG. Townsquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter worth $204,000. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 43.3% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 17,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $694,000 after acquiring an additional 5,432 shares in the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities in the third quarter worth about $400,000. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 97,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,781,000 after acquiring an additional 3,501 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in Essential Utilities by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 46,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,803,000 after purchasing an additional 6,344 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of WTRG opened at $40.65 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market cap of $11.20 billion, a PE ratio of 20.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.79. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $33.18 and a 12 month high of $41.78. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $37.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.84.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $604.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $698.77 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. Equities research analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.91%.

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.