Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG Shares Bought by John G Ullman & Associates Inc.

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 74.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 464,925 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 198,923 shares during the quarter. Essential Utilities makes up 2.5% of John G Ullman & Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. John G Ullman & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $18,551,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. SouthState Corp raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 834.7% during the 2nd quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 701 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 626 shares during the period. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp increased its holdings in Essential Utilities by 1,163.8% in the 3rd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 733 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Essential Utilities by 43.6% during the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,114 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares during the period. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in Essential Utilities by 141.2% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 710 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on WTRG shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Northcoast Research raised shares of Essential Utilities from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered Essential Utilities from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.29.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $37.68 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $10.67 billion, a PE ratio of 15.64 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 12-month low of $34.58 and a 12-month high of $42.37. The company has a 50-day moving average of $38.58 and a 200 day moving average of $38.88.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $476.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $472.40 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 28.09% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The business’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.25 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th will be given a dividend of $0.3426 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.85%.

Essential Utilities Company Profile

Essential Utilities, Inc, formerly known as Aqua America, is a publicly traded water and natural gas utility holding company. Through its regulated water and wastewater subsidiaries, the company provides essential water services to residential, commercial and industrial customers. In addition, Essential Utilities delivers natural gas distribution services in Pennsylvania through its Peoples Gas subsidiary, offering integrated utility solutions under a unified corporate framework.

The company traces its roots to the Philadelphia Suburban Water Company, founded in 1886 to serve growing communities outside Philadelphia.