John G Ullman & Associates Inc. Grows Stock Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 121.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 212,122 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 116,422 shares during the quarter. Essential Utilities makes up about 1.2% of John G Ullman & Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. John G Ullman & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $8,182,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Essential Utilities by 12.1% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 139,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,171,000 after acquiring an additional 15,009 shares in the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 1st quarter valued at about $46,280,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 350.3% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 903,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,723,000 after purchasing an additional 702,760 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 11.6% during the first quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 559,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,746,000 after purchasing an additional 58,018 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Essential Utilities by 2.5% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 881,658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,912,000 after buying an additional 21,804 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. 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. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $44.00 to $41.00 in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.00.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 0.0 %

Essential Utilities stock opened at $38.94 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $39.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.83. 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 $10.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.84. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.57 and a 52 week high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 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 business had revenue of $435.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $416.95 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 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.