Geode Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 2.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,305,976 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 82,456 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $165,701,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Essential Utilities during the third quarter worth about $28,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 61.4% during 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. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut 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. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.00.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of WTRG stock opened at $38.69 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.35, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.85. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.57 and a fifty-two week high of $41.78. 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 50 day moving average price of $39.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.96.

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

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $0.3255 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. Essential Utilities’s 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.