YHB Investment Advisors Inc. Has $226,000 Stock Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

YHB Investment Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 19.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,235 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,535 shares during the period. YHB Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $226,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of WTRG. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 24.0% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 22,255 shares of the company’s stock worth $809,000 after buying an additional 4,307 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $422,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 86,756 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,151,000 after buying an additional 13,362 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter worth $638,000. Finally, Secure Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 45,332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,646,000 after acquiring an additional 4,920 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE:WTRG opened at $35.68 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.55. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.18 and a fifty-two week high of $41.78. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.57. The company has a market capitalization of $9.80 billion, a PE ratio of 17.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.86.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $435.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $416.95 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. Essential Utilities’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.30 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is 65.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WTRG shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Essential Utilities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $43.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

About Essential Utilities

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.