VSM Wealth Advisory LLC Buys New Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,811,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,134,000 after purchasing an additional 972,803 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,305,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,701,000 after purchasing an additional 82,456 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,731,011 shares of the company’s stock valued at $99,190,000 after purchasing an additional 175,707 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 2,531,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,632,000 after acquiring an additional 100,990 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,154,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,088,000 after acquiring an additional 145,767 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the company. 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. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 0.8 %

WTRG opened at $38.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.79. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $33.18 and a 12 month high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $604.38 million during 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.