Rodgers Brothers Inc. Raises Stock Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Rodgers Brothers Inc. grew its holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 34.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 71,913 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,475 shares during the quarter. Rodgers Brothers Inc.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $2,612,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the third quarter worth about $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 75.0% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter worth about $60,000. 74.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WTRG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $39.30 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $37.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.80. The company has a market capitalization of $10.83 billion, a PE ratio of 19.65, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 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 (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. The company had revenue of $604.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $698.77 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is 59.91%.

Essential Utilities 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.