Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Has $534,000 Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 109.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,710 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,682 shares during the quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $534,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 99.2% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 54,809 shares of the company's stock worth $2,114,000 after buying an additional 27,291 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 997,399 shares of the company's stock worth $39,796,000 after acquiring an additional 10,427 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 33.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 953,984 shares of the company's stock worth $36,795,000 after acquiring an additional 237,096 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Essential Utilities by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,946 shares of the company's stock valued at $180,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at about $859,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WTRG has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, April 20th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI upped 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 lifted their price objective on 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 upgraded Essential Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $41.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of WTRG stock remained flat at $40.71 during trading hours on Friday. The stock had a trading volume of 804,045 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,460,433. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a one year low of $33.18 and a one year high of $41.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a market capitalization of $11.22 billion, a PE ratio of 20.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.85. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $39.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.99.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $604.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $698.77 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. As a group, research analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a $0.3255 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. Essential Utilities's payout ratio is 59.91%.

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.