Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $4.03 Million Stake in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its stake in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 27.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 101,022 shares of the company’s stock after selling 38,462 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $4,031,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SouthState Corp raised its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 834.7% in the second quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 626 shares during the period. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 141.2% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 710 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter worth $50,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in Essential Utilities during the third quarter valued at about $51,000. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTRG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird downgraded Essential Utilities from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Wall Street Zen raised Essential Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 11th. Zacks Research upgraded Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Northcoast Research raised shares of Essential Utilities from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.29.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $37.46 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.54 and a beta of 0.81. Essential Utilities Inc. has a one year low of $34.58 and a one year high of $42.37. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be paid a $0.3426 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.85%.

Essential Utilities Profile

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.