Brighton Jones LLC Takes $638,000 Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 17,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $638,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 4,309.4% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,255,483 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,424,000 after buying an additional 1,227,010 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 117.3% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,962,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,701,000 after acquiring an additional 1,059,320 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,811,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,134,000 after acquiring an additional 972,803 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Essential Utilities during the third quarter worth $30,842,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Essential Utilities by 33.1% during the third 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 in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

WTRG stock opened at $33.49 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.86. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.18 and a 52-week high of $41.78. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.58. 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) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $435.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $416.95 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.30 earnings per share. Essential Utilities’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 65.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WTRG shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Essential Utilities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $43.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Essential Utilities presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.00.

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.