First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown Lowers Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown reduced its stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 1.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 116,459 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,645 shares during the period. Essential Utilities makes up 0.9% of First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $4,491,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norden Group LLC bought a new position in Essential Utilities in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 24.8% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 19,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $782,000 after buying an additional 3,843 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in Essential Utilities by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 140,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,216,000 after buying an additional 3,779 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its position in Essential Utilities by 126.8% in the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 18,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $680,000 after buying an additional 10,254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 220,054 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,153,000 after acquiring an additional 3,046 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WTRG. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $44.00 to $41.00 in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.00.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE:WTRG opened at $39.12 on Friday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.28 and a 52-week high of $41.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.70 billion, a PE ratio of 19.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.67.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $435.30 million for 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 7.94%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.30 EPS. Analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.00%.

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.