Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Shares Bought by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,305,976 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 82,456 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 1.57% of Essential Utilities worth $165,701,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WTRG. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.8% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 14,243 shares of the company's stock valued at $549,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Essential Utilities by 61.4% during the third 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. Tompkins Financial Corp grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 21.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 1,685 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 3,477 shares of the company's stock worth $134,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 8,024 shares of the company's stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of WTRG traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $38.35. 1,586,207 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,509,991. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $10.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.85. The stock's 50-day moving average is $39.34 and its 200-day moving average is $38.96. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.57 and a fifty-two week high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $435.30 million during 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%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $0.3255 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on WTRG shares. Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Robert W. Baird raised 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Essential Utilities from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.