Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG Stock Purchased by CenterBook Partners LP

CenterBook Partners LP increased its stake in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 173.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,563 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 14,958 shares during the period. CenterBook Partners LP’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $923,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTRG. Heritage Family Offices LLP bought a new position in Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $100,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 11.0% during the third quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 34,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,357,000 after buying an additional 3,437 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 9.3% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 234,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,201,000 after buying an additional 19,951 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC bought a new stake in Essential Utilities in the third quarter worth $714,000. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in Essential Utilities in the third quarter worth $488,000. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on WTRG shares. Weiss Ratings raised Essential Utilities from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. UBS Group reduced their price target on Essential Utilities from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Essential Utilities stock opened at $45.16 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.93 billion, a PE ratio of 22.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.62. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 52-week low of $36.10 and a 52-week high of $46.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.40.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.05. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 21.79% and a return on equity of 8.36%. The firm had revenue of $508.26 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $450.44 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.33 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be issued a $0.3606 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 10th. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is presently 72.36%.

About Essential Utilities

Essential Utilities, Inc. is a regulated utility company that provides water and wastewater services through its Aqua operations and natural gas distribution through Peoples Natural Gas. Its services include treating and delivering drinking water, collecting and treating wastewater, and supplying natural gas to homes and businesses. The company traces its water utility roots to the Springfield Water Company, founded in Pennsylvania in 1886. It adopted the Essential Utilities name in 2020, following its acquisition of Peoples Natural Gas and the expansion of its business beyond water and wastewater services.