Lindenwold Advisors INC Acquires 364 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Lindenwold Advisors INC increased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,930 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 364 shares during the period. Lindenwold Advisors INC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $306,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. bought a new stake in Essential Utilities in the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 81.2% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 515 shares during the period. Bfsg LLC boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 157.0% in the third quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 1,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 727 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities in the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WTRG. Evercore ISI upped their target price 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. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $44.00 to $41.00 in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.00.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Essential Utilities stock opened at $38.83 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $10.66 billion, a PE ratio of 19.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.84. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.57 and a 1 year 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. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $39.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.82.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $435.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $416.95 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.30 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2.01 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a $0.3255 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. 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.