Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 59,683 Shares of Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. decreased its stake in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 62.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,552 shares of the company’s stock after selling 59,683 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $1,419,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 1,163.8% in the third quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 733 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 43.6% in the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,114 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 141.2% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 710 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. 74.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WTRG. Northcoast Research raised shares of Essential Utilities from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Barclays set a $38.00 price target on Essential Utilities and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.20.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of WTRG opened at $39.79 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $39.04 and a 200 day moving average of $39.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.01 and a beta of 0.82. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 1-year low of $36.32 and a 1-year high of $42.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $699.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $611.60 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 24.91% and a return on equity of 9.18%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.3426 per share. This represents a $1.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 12th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is 61.99%.

About Essential Utilities

Essential Utilities, Inc, formerly known as Aqua America, is a publicly traded water and natural gas utility holding company. Through its regulated water and wastewater subsidiaries, the company provides essential water services to residential, commercial and industrial customers. In addition, Essential Utilities delivers natural gas distribution services in Pennsylvania through its Peoples Gas subsidiary, offering integrated utility solutions under a unified corporate framework.

The company traces its roots to the Philadelphia Suburban Water Company, founded in 1886 to serve growing communities outside Philadelphia.