Costello Asset Management INC Has $4.13 Million Stake in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Key Points

• Costello Asset Management INC increased its stake in Essential Utilities Inc. by 10.8% to $4.13 million, making it the firm's 16th largest position.
• Essential Utilities recently reported earnings, surpassing estimates with $0.38 EPS and revenue of $514.91 million, reflecting an 18.5% increase from the previous year.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.3426 per share, representing a 3.6% dividend yield for shareholders.

Costello Asset Management INC boosted its stake in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 10.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 104,386 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,186 shares during the period. Essential Utilities comprises approximately 1.7% of Costello Asset Management INC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Costello Asset Management INC's holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $4,126,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WTRG. Bfsg LLC grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 22.1% during the 1st quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 1,453 shares of the company's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 24.7% during the 1st quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 1,531 shares of the company's stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the period. Community Bank N.A. grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 23,928 shares of the company's stock worth $946,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the period. Apella Capital LLC grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 7,914 shares of the company's stock worth $299,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the period. Finally, HM Payson & Co. boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 115,963 shares of the company's stock worth $4,584,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $38.30 on Tuesday. Essential Utilities Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.18 and a fifty-two week high of $41.65. The stock has a market cap of $10.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.44, a PEG ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.73. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $37.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.97.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.09. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The business had revenue of $514.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $462.70 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.28 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be given a dividend of $0.3426 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. This is an increase from Essential Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Essential Utilities's payout ratio is 55.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on WTRG shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.67.

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.

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