LPL Financial LLC Acquires 10,941 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 288,469 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 10,941 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.11% of Essential Utilities worth $10,477,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 4.8% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 70,100 shares of the company's stock worth $2,546,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 19,527 shares of the company's stock valued at $709,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Essential Utilities by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,946 shares of the company's stock valued at $180,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Affirmative Financial Network raised its position in Essential Utilities by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 9,994 shares of the company's stock valued at $363,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

WTRG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group lowered 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 note on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Essential Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $41.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of WTRG traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $38.38. The stock had a trading volume of 314,508 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,471,152. The firm has a market cap of $10.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.83. 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, 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 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 business had revenue of $604.38 million for 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 anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.