First National Corp MA ADV Has $3.39 Million Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

First National Corp MA ADV decreased its stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 90,667 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,470 shares during the period. First National Corp MA ADV’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $3,386,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 604.0% in the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 112.6% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 155.4% during the third quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,042 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 634 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Resources Management Corp CT ADV boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 250.0% in the third quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 1,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 3.4 %

WTRG stock opened at $36.80 on Thursday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.07 and a twelve month high of $45.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.07 billion, a PE ratio of 19.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.81. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $35.89 and its 200-day moving average is $35.69.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $479.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $708.50 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.68% and a net margin of 24.26%. Essential Utilities’s quarterly revenue was down 32.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.44 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.3071 per share. This represents a $1.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is 66.13%.

Essential Utilities 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.