Independent Advisor Alliance Purchases New Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Independent Advisor Alliance purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 10,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $388,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 61.4% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 773 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 75.0% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,104 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WTRG shares. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Essential Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $41.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group cut their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Essential Utilities presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.50.

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Essential Utilities Trading Down 1.2 %

WTRG traded down $0.47 during trading on Friday, hitting $38.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,714,006 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,372,166. The stock has a market cap of $10.55 billion, a PE ratio of 19.20, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.79. 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 firm's 50 day moving average price is $36.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.85. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $33.18 and a twelve month high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $604.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $698.77 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. On average, analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. Essential Utilities's payout ratio is 59.91%.

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.