First Horizon Advisors Inc. Has $30,000 Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 61.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 773 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $30,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in WTRG. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Essential Utilities by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 14,243 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Essential Utilities by 4.5% during the second quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,947 shares of the company’s stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the period. Tompkins Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 21.7% during the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 1,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 10.6% in the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 3,477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,000 after buying an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 5.4% in the first quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 6,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 334 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WTRG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $44.00 to $41.00 in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Friday, September 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.00.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WTRG opened at $40.12 on Tuesday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a one year low of $33.57 and a one year high of $41.78. 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 company has a market cap of $11.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.06, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.86.

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

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.00%.

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.