HBK Sorce Advisory LLC Grows Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,945 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $289,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.8% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 14,243 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 6,342 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 61.4% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 70,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,546,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC increased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 19,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $709,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $39.54 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.77, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.79. The business’s 50 day moving average is $36.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.83. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.18 and a 1-year high of $41.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.39.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $604.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.3255 per share. 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 3.29%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is 59.91%.

Essential Utilities Company 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.