Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 203,264 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,383,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.07% of Essential Utilities as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 61.4% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 773 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 75.0% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,104 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the third quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at $60,000. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI boosted 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, March 5th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective 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. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.50.

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Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of Essential Utilities stock traded up $0.68 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $38.58. 1,321,016 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,371,009. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.29, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.82. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.18 and a 52-week high of $41.78. 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 (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. The business had revenue of $604.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $698.77 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. 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.