Ninepoint Partners LP Acquires Shares of 38,999 Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Ninepoint Partners LP acquired a new position in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 38,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,556,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WTRG. SouthState Corp boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 834.7% during the second quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 701 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 626 shares in the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 1,163.8% in the third quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 43.6% in the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,114 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 141.2% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 710 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

WTRG stock opened at $40.06 on Friday. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 1 year low of $36.32 and a 1 year high of $42.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.13 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The business’s 50-day moving average is $38.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.01.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.11. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 24.91% and a return on equity of 9.25%. The firm had revenue of $699.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $611.60 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.3426 per share. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 12th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Barclays set a $38.00 price objective on Essential Utilities and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.67.

Essential Utilities Company 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.