Capstone Investment Advisors LLC Acquires New Shares in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 12,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $478,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 4,309.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,255,483 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,424,000 after acquiring an additional 1,227,010 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 117.3% during the third quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,962,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,701,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059,320 shares in the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the second quarter worth about $11,853,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 18.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,500,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,002,000 after buying an additional 234,857 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,871,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,200,000 after buying an additional 149,162 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WTRG shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $44.00 to $41.00 in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.00.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $40.07 on Friday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.57 and a 12-month high of $41.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market cap of $11.00 billion, a PE ratio of 20.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $39.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.89.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $416.95 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.30 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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.