Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Shares Purchased by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 30,061,135 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,245,256 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Essential Utilities worth $1,091,820,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 51,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,001,000 after buying an additional 803 shares during the period. Synergy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Essential Utilities by 92.8% in the 4th quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 148,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,529,000 after acquiring an additional 71,222 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Essential Utilities by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,811,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,134,000 after acquiring an additional 972,803 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at $638,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 8.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,871,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,200,000 after purchasing an additional 149,162 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on WTRG shares. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

NYSE:WTRG opened at $39.30 on Friday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a one year low of $33.18 and a one year high of $41.78. The stock has a market cap of $10.80 billion, a PE ratio of 19.65, 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. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $37.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.82.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted 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. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. The business had revenue of $604.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $698.77 million. Equities research analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.91%.

About Essential Utilities

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.