Point72 Asset Management L.P. Purchases New Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 799,647 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,842,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. owned 0.29% of Essential Utilities as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 61.4% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 773 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. bought a new stake in Essential Utilities in the second quarter valued at $37,000. 74.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE:WTRG traded down $0.38 during trading on Friday, reaching $38.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,127,724 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,518,174. The firm has a market cap of $10.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.55. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $33.57 and a 12 month high of $41.78. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $39.29 and a 200-day moving average of $38.89.

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

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were paid a dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WTRG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Bank of America reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Essential Utilities from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. One 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 stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $44.00.

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.