Diversified LLC Has $238,000 Stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Diversified LLC reduced its stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 43.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,174 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,651 shares during the quarter. Diversified LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $238,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. DRW Securities LLC bought a new position in Essential Utilities in the third quarter valued at about $3,907,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the third quarter valued at about $212,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 4.8% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 23,923 shares of the company’s stock worth $923,000 after purchasing an additional 1,102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 3.0% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 282,370 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,891,000 after buying an additional 8,148 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price 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. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $44.00 to $41.00 in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.00.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

WTRG stock opened at $40.12 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $39.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.86. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.57 and a 12-month high of $41.78. The firm has a market cap of $11.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.06, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.84.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. The company had revenue of $435.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $416.95 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current 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. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.00%.

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.