Public Sector Pension Investment Board Grows Stock Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 44.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,080 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,437 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $1,272,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Essential Utilities by 24.7% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 152,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,636,000 after buying an additional 30,152 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 12.1% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 139,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,171,000 after purchasing an additional 15,009 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew 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. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 1st quarter valued at $46,280,000. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 350.3% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 903,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,723,000 after purchasing an additional 702,760 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:WTRG opened at $38.31 on Wednesday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.07 and a 52-week high of $41.78. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $39.35 and a 200 day moving average of $38.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.48 billion, a PE ratio of 18.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.58.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $442.76 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.16% and a net margin of 28.74%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.34 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a $0.3255 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This is an increase from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 61.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.