16,334 Shares in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Acquired by Quest Partners LLC

Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 16,334 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $630,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 289.8% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 37,254 shares of the company's stock worth $1,380,000 after acquiring an additional 27,698 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 105.6% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 3,700 shares of the company's stock worth $137,000 after acquiring an additional 1,900 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 1st quarter worth $87,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Essential Utilities by 39.5% during the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,575 shares of the company's stock worth $318,000 after buying an additional 2,427 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. purchased a new position in Essential Utilities during the 1st quarter worth $46,280,000. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 0.4 %

Essential Utilities stock traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $39.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,260,957 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,429,756. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.57 and a fifty-two week high of $41.78. The company has a market cap of $10.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.84.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $416.95 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.30 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2.01 earnings per share 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 dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio is currently 65.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WTRG. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Essential Utilities from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $44.00 to $41.00 in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities currently has a consensus 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.