Coston McIsaac & Partners Has $4.15 Million Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Coston McIsaac & Partners raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 107,694 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,915 shares during the quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners’ holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $4,153,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blossom Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 3.2% in the third quarter. Blossom Wealth Management now owns 14,780 shares of the company’s stock worth $570,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the period. Eastern Bank bought a new position in Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,901,000. Cetera Trust Company N.A boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A now owns 4,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 44.4% during the 3rd quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 73,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,831,000 after buying an additional 22,560 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Essential Utilities in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $44.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Friday, September 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.80.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE:WTRG traded down $0.30 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $40.19. The stock had a trading volume of 298,541 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,523,319. The stock has a market cap of $11.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.84. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.78 and a 12-month high of $41.78. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.02). Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.16% and a net margin of 28.74%. The business had revenue of $434.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $442.76 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.34 EPS. Essential Utilities’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a $0.3255 dividend. This is an increase from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is presently 63.41%.

Essential Utilities Company Profile

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.