Gotham Asset Management LLC Has $36.22 Million Stock Holdings in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 168.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 907,809 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 569,210 shares during the quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $36,222,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $41.66 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $39.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.09. The company has a market cap of $11.79 billion, a PE ratio of 18.85 and a beta of 0.81. Essential Utilities Inc. has a twelve month low of $36.32 and a twelve month high of $42.37.

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. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 9.18% and a net margin of 24.91%.The company had revenue of $699.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $611.60 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.67 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.3426 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.