Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Has $296,000 Stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,674 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 388 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $296,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Code Waechter LLC bought a new position in Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter valued at $423,000. Covea Finance raised its position in Essential Utilities by 36.4% in the 3rd quarter. Covea Finance now owns 90,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,471,000 after purchasing an additional 24,000 shares during the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network raised its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 13.1% during the third quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 9,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $372,000 after acquiring an additional 1,120 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 710.0% during the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 8,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $312,000 after acquiring an additional 7,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 991.1% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,964 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 1,784 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE WTRG opened at $39.16 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.19. The company has a market capitalization of $10.71 billion, a PE ratio of 18.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.42 and a 12 month high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.02). Essential Utilities had a net margin of 28.74% and a return on equity of 8.16%. The business had revenue of $434.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $442.76 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.34 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This is a boost from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WTRG shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Essential Utilities in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $44.00 target price for the company. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.80.

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.