Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Boosts Stock Position in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 22.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 91,347 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,677 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $3,711,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter worth $638,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 7.8% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 12,861 shares of the company’s stock worth $508,000 after purchasing an additional 928 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.8% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 29,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,173,000 after buying an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Essential Utilities by 122.7% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 943,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,308,000 after buying an additional 519,933 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 22,322 shares of the company’s stock valued at $882,000 after buying an additional 1,044 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTRG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $47.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Northcoast Research raised shares of Essential Utilities from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Barclays set a $38.00 target price on shares of Essential Utilities and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.29.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WTRG opened at $39.01 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.23 and a beta of 0.81. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 12 month low of $34.58 and a 12 month high of $42.37. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $38.74 and its 200 day moving average is $38.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $476.97 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $472.40 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 28.09% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.25 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be given a $0.3426 dividend. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 9th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is 56.85%.

Essential Utilities Profile

Essential Utilities, Inc, formerly known as Aqua America, is a publicly traded water and natural gas utility holding company. Through its regulated water and wastewater subsidiaries, the company provides essential water services to residential, commercial and industrial customers. In addition, Essential Utilities delivers natural gas distribution services in Pennsylvania through its Peoples Gas subsidiary, offering integrated utility solutions under a unified corporate framework.

The company traces its roots to the Philadelphia Suburban Water Company, founded in 1886 to serve growing communities outside Philadelphia.