Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Stake Increased by Avantax Advisory Services Inc.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 143,452 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,116 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $5,210,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,811,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,134,000 after buying an additional 972,803 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 2.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,305,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,701,000 after buying an additional 82,456 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,731,011 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,190,000 after buying an additional 175,707 shares during the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 4.2% in the third quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 2,531,297 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,632,000 after buying an additional 100,990 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 7.3% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,154,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,088,000 after buying an additional 145,767 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTRG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group dropped 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 note 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 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 1.0 %

Essential Utilities stock opened at $39.54 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.55. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a one year low of $33.18 and a one year high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $604.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $698.77 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.91%.

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.