Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Stake Lifted by John G Ullman & Associates Inc.

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. increased its stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 33.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 282,050 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 69,928 shares during the period. Essential Utilities makes up approximately 1.5% of John G Ullman & Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Essential Utilities worth $10,244,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 1.8% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 14,243 shares of the company’s stock worth $549,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 6,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 61.4% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 21.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 1,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 70,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,546,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTRG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.33.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE:WTRG opened at $37.96 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.42 billion, a PE ratio of 18.98, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.84. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.18 and a 1 year high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $604.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $698.77 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is 59.91%.

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.