DRW Securities LLC Invests $3.91 Million in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

DRW Securities LLC acquired a new position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 101,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,907,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 1.8% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 14,243 shares of the company’s stock worth $549,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 61.4% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 4.5% during the second quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,947 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 21.7% during the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 1,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 10.6% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 3,477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTRG has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.00.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of WTRG stock opened at $39.53 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $39.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.85. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.57 and a fifty-two week high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The firm had revenue of $435.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $416.95 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.30 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.00%.

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.