Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. Has $37.86 Million Holdings in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 54.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 948,863 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,121,299 shares during the period. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $37,860,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SouthState Corp increased its holdings in Essential Utilities by 834.7% during the 2nd 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 shares of Essential Utilities during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the second quarter worth about $31,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 710 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 1.6%

NYSE WTRG opened at $38.70 on Friday. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 12 month low of $34.58 and a 12 month high of $42.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $38.74 and a 200-day moving average of $38.86. The company has a market cap of $10.95 billion, a PE ratio of 16.06 and a beta of 0.81.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $476.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $472.40 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 28.09% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th will be paid a $0.3426 dividend. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $45.00 target price (down previously from $46.00) on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.29.

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.