Wealthfront Advisers LLC Makes New $234,000 Investment in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 6,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $234,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 61.4% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 75.0% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying 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 research firms recently weighed in on WTRG. UBS Group dropped their price target on 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 increased their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One investment 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 0.9 %

WTRG stock opened at $39.84 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.92, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.79. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $36.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.83. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.