Allstate Corp Purchases New Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Allstate Corp purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 8,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $300,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WTRG. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 75.0% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 473 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $90,000. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of Essential Utilities stock opened at $39.41 on Thursday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $33.18 and a twelve month high of $41.78. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $604.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $698.77 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. Analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.91%.

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.