Vise Technologies Inc. Purchases 19,466 Shares of Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its position in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 68.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,922 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 19,466 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $1,878,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sage Rhino Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $206,000. North Dakota State Investment Board grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 4.0% in the third quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board now owns 8,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $340,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Lynch Investment Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the third quarter valued at approximately $109,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the third quarter valued at approximately $232,000. Finally, Bernardo Wealth Planning LLC increased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 106.9% in the third quarter. Bernardo Wealth Planning LLC now owns 22,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $875,000 after purchasing an additional 11,542 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTRG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays upped their target price on Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Essential Utilities from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Essential Utilities from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

WTRG stock opened at $46.12 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $41.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market cap of $13.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.18, a PEG ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.62. Essential Utilities Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $36.10 and a fifty-two week high of $46.36.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.05. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 21.79% and a return on equity of 8.36%. The business had revenue of $508.26 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $450.44 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.33 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be given a dividend of $0.3606 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is 72.36%.

Essential Utilities Company Profile

Essential Utilities, Inc is a regulated utility company that provides water, wastewater and natural gas services to residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers. Through its Aqua and Peoples operations, the company owns and operates water and wastewater systems, natural gas distribution networks and related infrastructure. Its services include the treatment and delivery of drinking water, collection and treatment of wastewater, and the distribution of natural gas.

The company serves customers across several U.S.