Toth Financial Advisory Corp Has $5.10 Million Stock Holdings in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Toth Financial Advisory Corp increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 127,799 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,504 shares during the quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $5,099,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Essential Utilities in the 2nd quarter valued at about $102,347,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 1,572.4% in the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,271,201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,212,000 after purchasing an additional 1,195,189 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 2.3% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,407,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,129,340,000 after purchasing an additional 693,988 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 851.4% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 717,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,541,000 after purchasing an additional 642,277 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Essential Utilities by 73.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,336,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,635,000 after purchasing an additional 564,799 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $37.89 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.72 and a beta of 0.81. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $39.36 and its 200 day moving average is $38.58. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.18 and a 52 week high of $42.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.60.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.06. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 28.09% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The firm had revenue of $476.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $472.40 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th were given a dividend of $0.3426 per share. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 12th. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 56.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WTRG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Janney Montgomery Scott cut Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Monday. Barclays set a $38.00 price target on shares of Essential Utilities and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 11th. Finally, Baird R W lowered shares of Essential Utilities from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.29.

About Essential Utilities

Essential Utilities, Inc, formerly known as Aqua America, is a publicly traded water and natural gas utility holding company. Through its regulated water and wastewater subsidiaries, the company provides essential water services to residential, commercial and industrial customers. In addition, Essential Utilities delivers natural gas distribution services in Pennsylvania through its Peoples Gas subsidiary, offering integrated utility solutions under a unified corporate framework.

The company traces its roots to the Philadelphia Suburban Water Company, founded in 1886 to serve growing communities outside Philadelphia.