Fisher Asset Management LLC Buys Shares of 5,496 Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Fisher Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 4,309.4% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,255,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,424,000 after purchasing an additional 1,227,010 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 117.3% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,962,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,701,000 after acquiring an additional 1,059,320 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the second quarter valued at approximately $11,853,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 18.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,500,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,002,000 after acquiring an additional 234,857 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 8.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,871,932 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,200,000 after purchasing an additional 149,162 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Essential Utilities Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of WTRG opened at $40.03 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $10.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.84. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $39.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.88.

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

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.00%.

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.