Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Holdings Cut by Lindenwold Advisors INC

Lindenwold Advisors INC decreased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,625 shares of the company’s stock after selling 305 shares during the quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $277,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the third quarter worth $28,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 61.4% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 75.0% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group reduced 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. Evercore ISI 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 report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WTRG opened at $39.70 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $36.36 and its 200 day moving average is $37.83. 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 company has a market capitalization of $10.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.79. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.18 and a fifty-two week high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $604.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $698.77 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.91%.

Essential Utilities 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.