BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Raises Stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 60.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,763 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 18,765 shares during the quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $1,858,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WTRG. Evergreen Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 2nd quarter valued at about $385,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in Essential Utilities by 44.1% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 34,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,272,000 after acquiring an additional 10,437 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 2.5% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 881,658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,912,000 after acquiring an additional 21,804 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 22.4% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 46,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,733,000 after purchasing an additional 8,496 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $540,000. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.00.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 0.8 %

WTRG stock opened at $38.40 on Monday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.07 and a 12-month high of $41.78. The business’s 50-day moving average is $39.44 and its 200 day moving average is $38.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market cap of $10.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.20, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.85.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.02). Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.16% and a net margin of 28.74%. The firm had revenue of $434.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $442.76 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.34 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. This is a boost from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is 61.61%.

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.