New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 24.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,531 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $61,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,507,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 25,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $998,000 after acquiring an additional 1,867 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $638,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 9,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $386,000 after acquiring an additional 1,218 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 107,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,239,000 after acquiring an additional 4,015 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of WTRG stock opened at $39.02 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $37.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.12. Essential Utilities Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.18 and a fifty-two week high of $41.65.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $514.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $462.70 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.28 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be issued a $0.3426 dividend. This represents a $1.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. This is an increase from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 12th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WTRG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Essential Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.67.

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.