Natixis Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 6.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 66,382 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,761 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $2,560,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTRG. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 12.1% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 139,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,171,000 after buying an additional 15,009 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 350.3% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 903,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,723,000 after buying an additional 702,760 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 881,658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,912,000 after buying an additional 21,804 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Essential Utilities by 18.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,500,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,002,000 after purchasing an additional 234,857 shares during the period. Finally, M&G Plc acquired a new position in Essential Utilities during the second quarter worth about $482,000. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WTRG. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Friday, September 20th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.00.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Essential Utilities stock opened at $39.53 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $10.86 billion, a PE ratio of 19.77, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.57 and a 1 year high of $41.78. The company’s 50-day moving average is $39.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.85.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The firm had revenue of $435.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.95 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.30 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a $0.3255 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.00%.

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.