Captrust Financial Advisors Acquires 9,470 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 52.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,451 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,470 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors' holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $997,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 75.0% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,104 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 98.9% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,565 shares of the company's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter worth approximately $60,000. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI 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 note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Essential Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $41.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, April 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Essential Utilities from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:WTRG traded up $0.28 on Tuesday, reaching $39.43. 533,088 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,628,737. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.85. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $39.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.18 and a 52 week high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.23. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. The business had revenue of $783.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $713.80 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. Essential Utilities's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. Essential Utilities's payout ratio is currently 58.30%.

Essential Utilities 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.