Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Stock Position Boosted by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,821 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 613 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $852,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,992,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,045,504,000 after purchasing an additional 823,495 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 17,553.7% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,425,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,156,000 after purchasing an additional 3,405,947 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,754,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,811,000 after purchasing an additional 9,822 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at about $97,288,000. Finally, Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,023,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,554,000 after purchasing an additional 13,557 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Essential Utilities

In other Essential Utilities news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,342 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.43, for a total transaction of $87,661.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 53,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,998,425.13. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on WTRG shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.40.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

NYSE WTRG opened at $39.33 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.85. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.07 and a 52-week high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $434.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $442.76 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 28.74% and a return on equity of 8.16%. Essential Utilities’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.34 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This is an increase from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.