Red Door Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Red Door Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 13,523 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $491,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cetera Trust Company N.A raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 41.7% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A now owns 6,325 shares of the company's stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 1,860 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 50,150 shares of the company's stock worth $1,821,000 after acquiring an additional 1,490 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Essential Utilities by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,919 shares of the company's stock valued at $397,000 after buying an additional 856 shares in the last quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. now owns 201,926 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,334,000 after acquiring an additional 1,719 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 175,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,374,000 after acquiring an additional 4,800 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Essential Utilities stock traded down $0.11 on Friday, reaching $33.49. 1,653,544 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,506,283. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.18 and a fifty-two week high of $41.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $37.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.61.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $416.95 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio is 65.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WTRG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Essential Utilities from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Essential Utilities from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $43.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Company Profile

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.