Amalgamated Bank Raises Holdings in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Amalgamated Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 118,513 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,681 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $4,402,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Essential Utilities during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in Essential Utilities during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. National Pension Service increased its holdings in Essential Utilities by 75.0% during the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 101.8% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 686 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 27.6% in the 1st quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 1,406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of Essential Utilities stock opened at $39.05 on Monday. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.18 and a 52 week high of $42.37. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $39.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.76, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.82.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.09. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The business had revenue of $514.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $462.70 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.28 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.3426 per share. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 12th. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is presently 58.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Janney Montgomery Scott cut shares of Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Baird R W cut shares of Essential Utilities from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.57.

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.