Glen Eagle Advisors LLC Sells 435 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Glen Eagle Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,962 shares of the company’s stock after selling 435 shares during the quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $384,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WTRG. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Essential Utilities during the third quarter worth $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Essential Utilities during the third quarter valued at $28,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 61.4% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the period. Finally, Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 2nd quarter worth about $37,000. 74.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on WTRG. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target 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. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s 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 Performance

Shares of NYSE:WTRG opened at $38.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market cap of $10.69 billion, a PE ratio of 19.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.89. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a one year low of $33.57 and a one year high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. The company had revenue of $435.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $416.95 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.30 EPS. Essential Utilities’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2.02 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date was 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.