Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $460,000 Stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 13.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 12,661 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,516 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $460,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 61.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WTRG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Essential Utilities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $43.00 to $39.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 1.6 %

WTRG stock opened at $35.44 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.55. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.39. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.18 and a 52 week high of $41.78. The company has a market capitalization of $9.73 billion, a PE ratio of 17.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.87.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $435.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $416.95 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.30 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $0.3255 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.67%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.00%.

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.