Secure Asset Management LLC Grows Stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Secure Asset Management LLC increased its position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 12.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 45,332 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,920 shares during the quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $1,646,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WTRG. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.8% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 14,243 shares of the company’s stock worth $549,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 61.4% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 21.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 1,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $180,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

WTRG opened at $33.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.55. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.18 and a 1-year high of $41.78. The company has a 50-day moving average of $37.29 and a 200-day moving average of $38.64. The company has a market capitalization of $9.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.78, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.86.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $435.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.95 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.30 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.88%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on WTRG shares. UBS Group reduced their target price on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Essential Utilities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $43.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. 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 report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.00.

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.