Stephens Inc. AR Decreases Holdings in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Stephens Inc. AR trimmed its holdings in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 45.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 33,043 shares of the company’s stock after selling 28,013 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $1,318,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. SouthState Corp lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 834.7% in the second quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 701 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 626 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 141.2% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 710 shares during the period. Finally, Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter valued at about $50,000. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 0.4%

WTRG opened at $39.86 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.38 and a 52 week high of $42.37. The stock has a market cap of $11.28 billion, a PE ratio of 16.54 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a 50 day moving average of $38.76 and a 200-day moving average of $38.74.

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

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th were issued a $0.3426 dividend. This represents a $1.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 12th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is 56.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on WTRG shares. Janney Montgomery Scott cut Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Baird R W downgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Barclays set a $38.00 price target on shares of Essential Utilities and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.29.

About Essential Utilities

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.