Addison Capital Co Has $1.30 Million Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Addison Capital Co lessened its position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,649 shares of the company’s stock after selling 979 shares during the quarter. Addison Capital Co’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $1,298,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings 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. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 17,553.7% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,425,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $126,156,000 after buying an additional 3,405,947 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,754,099 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,811,000 after buying an additional 9,822 shares during the period. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,023,937 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,554,000 after buying an additional 13,557 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 18.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,500,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,002,000 after buying an additional 234,857 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE WTRG opened at $40.09 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $39.00 and a 200-day moving average of $38.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.84. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.42 and a 52 week high of $41.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.58.

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

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a $0.3255 dividend. This is a boost from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Essential Utilities in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $44.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.80.

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.