Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Acquires 27,291 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 99.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,809 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 27,291 shares during the quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $2,114,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WTRG. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 39.5% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 24,359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $963,000 after purchasing an additional 6,900 shares during the last quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter valued at about $206,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,223,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,305,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,701,000 after acquiring an additional 82,456 shares during the period. Finally, Vestcor Inc lifted its position in Essential Utilities by 74.5% during the third quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 20,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $781,000 after acquiring an additional 8,642 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WTRG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.00.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Essential Utilities stock opened at $38.70 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $10.63 billion, a PE ratio of 19.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $39.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.92. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a one year low of $33.57 and a one year high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. The company had revenue of $435.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $416.95 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.30 earnings per share. Essential Utilities’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.00%.

Essential Utilities 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.