W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. Lowers Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 21.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,246 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,277 shares during the quarter. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $318,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTRG. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 1st quarter worth $46,280,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 4,309.4% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,255,483 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,424,000 after purchasing an additional 1,227,010 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 117.3% during the third quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,962,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,701,000 after buying an additional 1,059,320 shares in the last quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities during the first quarter worth about $26,917,000. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new position in Essential Utilities during the second quarter worth about $11,853,000. 74.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on WTRG shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Essential Utilities in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $44.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI boosted 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. Finally, Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Friday, September 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.80.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:WTRG opened at $38.63 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $10.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.84. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.28 and a 52-week high of $41.78. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.63.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $435.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.95 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 28.74% and a return on equity of 8.16%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.30 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a $0.3255 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 63.41%.

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.