First Affirmative Financial Network Has $372,000 Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

First Affirmative Financial Network boosted its position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,643 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,120 shares during the period. First Affirmative Financial Network’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $372,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 49.7% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 3,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,000 after acquiring an additional 1,041 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,992,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,045,504,000 after buying an additional 823,495 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 196,873 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,353,000 after buying an additional 6,105 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 10,604 shares of the company’s stock worth $393,000 after buying an additional 640 shares during the period. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 112.8% in the 1st quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,513 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 802 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on WTRG. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Essential Utilities in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $44.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.80.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 1.8 %

WTRG stock opened at $39.16 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.72 billion, a PE ratio of 19.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.42 and a twelve month high of $41.78. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $38.98 and its 200-day moving average is $38.18.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.02). Essential Utilities had a net margin of 28.74% and a return on equity of 8.16%. The company had revenue of $434.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $442.76 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.34 earnings per share. Essential Utilities’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a $0.3255 dividend. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.41%.

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.