AdvisorNet Financial Inc Has $3.66 Million Stock Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

AdvisorNet Financial Inc cut its position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 100,632 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,863 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $3,655,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 1.6% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 51,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,001,000 after acquiring an additional 803 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 2.5% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 881,658 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,912,000 after purchasing an additional 21,804 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 18.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,500,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,002,000 after purchasing an additional 234,857 shares in the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its position in Essential Utilities by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,585,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,152,000 after purchasing an additional 84,596 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,811,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,134,000 after purchasing an additional 972,803 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of WTRG stock opened at $33.72 on Tuesday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.18 and a 52-week high of $41.78. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $9.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.86, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.86.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued 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 the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.30 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.86%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is 65.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $44.00 to $41.00 in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Robert W. Baird lifted 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, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Essential Utilities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $43.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.20.

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.