Centiva Capital LP Invests $400,000 in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Centiva Capital LP purchased a new position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 10,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $400,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased 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 worth $30,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter worth $42,000. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of WTRG opened at $38.83 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.42, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.89. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $33.57 and a twelve month high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $435.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $416.95 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.30 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2.02 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a $0.3255 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is 65.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.