Koss Olinger Consulting LLC Takes $400,000 Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Koss Olinger Consulting LLC bought a new stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 11,010 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $400,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in Essential Utilities by 1.8% during 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 during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 6,342 shares of the company's stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 61.4% during 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 during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its position in Essential Utilities by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 70,100 shares of the company's stock worth $2,546,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its position in Essential Utilities by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 19,527 shares of the company's stock worth $709,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of 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 reduced their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 1.0 %

Essential Utilities stock traded down $0.40 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $38.12. The company had a trading volume of 1,574,399 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,371,802. 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 firm has a market cap of $10.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $36.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.82. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.18 and a 1 year high of $41.78.

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

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio is currently 59.91%.

About Essential Utilities

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.