American Century Companies Inc. Makes New $4.42 Million Investment in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

American Century Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 121,561 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,415,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WTRG. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in Essential Utilities by 75.0% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter worth $60,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at about $90,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities in the third quarter valued at about $150,000. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 2.5 %

NYSE:WTRG opened at $39.62 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.81, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.80. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $37.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.83. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.18 and a 1-year high of $41.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.39.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $698.77 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is 59.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of 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 lifted their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com raised Essential Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.50.

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.