Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG Shares Bought by Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey

Police & Firemen's Retirement System of New Jersey increased its stake in Essential Utilities Inc. by 15.3% in Q2, owning 105,243 shares worth $3.9 million. Other institutional investors also adjusted their positions. Essential Utilities reported Q3 earnings of $0.33 per share, beating estimates. The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.3426 per share. Analysts have set new price targets, with mixed ratings from various brokerages.

Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey boosted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 15.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 105,243 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 13,926 shares during the quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey's holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $3,909,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Overlooked Analyst-Approved Dividend Plays You Can Count On

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 24.7% during the 1st quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 1,531 shares of the company's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC raised its position in Essential Utilities by 27.6% in the first quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 1,406 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the period. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 1.0% during the first quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 32,175 shares of the company's stock worth $1,272,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 2.0% during the first quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 16,322 shares of the company's stock worth $645,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 14.3% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,969 shares of the company's stock worth $110,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Essential Utilities Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE:WTRG opened at $39.68 on Monday. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.18 and a 12-month high of $42.37. The firm has a market cap of $11.23 billion, a PE ratio of 17.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $39.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.67.

Top 3 Stocks to Outperform the S&P 500 in a Downturn

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $476.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $472.40 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 27.62%.Essential Utilities's revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.25 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be issued a $0.3426 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WTRG. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Essential Utilities from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Northcoast Research set a $46.00 target price on Essential Utilities in a research report on Monday, October 27th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $45.00 price target (down from $46.00) on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Baird R W cut shares of Essential Utilities from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Essential Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $44.57.

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About Essential Utilities

(Free Report)

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.

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