DRW Securities LLC Purchases Shares of 101,300 Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

DRW Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 101,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,907,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 61.4% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 773 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 2nd quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 81.2% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,149 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 515 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of WTRG traded up $0.71 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $40.24. 910,971 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,515,741. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $39.04 and a 200-day moving average of $38.85. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a one year low of $33.57 and a one year high of $41.78. The firm has a market cap of $11.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.77, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.39.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $435.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $416.95 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. Essential Utilities's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.30 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Friday, September 20th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $44.00 to $41.00 in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $44.00.

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.