11,686 Shares in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Acquired by Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd.

Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 11,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $451,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 61.4% during the 3rd 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, Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:WTRG opened at $40.19 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.10, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.85. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.57 and a 12-month high of $41.78. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $39.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $435.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $416.95 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2.01 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were paid a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WTRG shares. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 report on Tuesday, November 5th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.00.

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.