Community Bank N.A. Has $927,000 Stock Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Community Bank N.A. lowered its position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,034 shares of the company’s stock after selling 809 shares during the period. Community Bank N.A.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $927,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 14,243 shares of the company’s stock worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 61.4% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 4.5% during the second quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,947 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 21.7% during the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 1,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in Essential Utilities by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 3,477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $44.00 to $41.00 in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.00.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Essential Utilities stock opened at $40.19 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $39.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.57 and a 12-month high of $41.78. The company has a market cap of $11.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.10, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.85.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The business had revenue of $435.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.95 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.30 EPS. Essential Utilities’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is 65.00%.

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.