Sanctuary Advisors LLC Takes Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 17,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $630,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WTRG. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 49.7% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 3,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,000 after acquiring an additional 1,041 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,992,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,045,504,000 after purchasing an additional 823,495 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 196,873 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,353,000 after purchasing an additional 6,105 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 10,604 shares of the company’s stock worth $393,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 112.8% during the 1st quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on WTRG shares. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of 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 shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $44.00 target price on the stock. 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 increased their price target on shares of 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 increased their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.80.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE WTRG opened at $39.90 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $38.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.21. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.42 and a 1 year high of $41.78.

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

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This is an increase from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.61%.

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.