Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Shares Bought by Sanctuary Advisors LLC

Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 39.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,359 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,900 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $963,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fortem Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter valued at $206,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the third quarter worth $2,223,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 2.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,305,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,701,000 after purchasing an additional 82,456 shares during the last quarter. Vestcor Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 74.5% during the third quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 20,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $781,000 after purchasing an additional 8,642 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 5.8% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 52,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,025,000 after buying an additional 2,860 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on WTRG shares. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.00.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of WTRG opened at $36.36 on Monday. 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 firm has a market cap of $9.98 billion, a PE ratio of 18.18, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $39.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.93. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $33.57 and a twelve month high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The firm had revenue of $435.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $416.95 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.30 earnings per share. Essential Utilities’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.58%. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 65.00%.

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.