Van ECK Associates Corp Increases Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 108.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 150,332 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 78,121 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 0.05% of Essential Utilities worth $5,460,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its position in Essential Utilities by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 70,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,546,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,000. First National Corp MA ADV grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 81.5% in the fourth quarter. First National Corp MA ADV now owns 28,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,049,000 after purchasing an additional 12,976 shares in the last quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 77,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,822,000 after buying an additional 902 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 55,507 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,016,000 after buying an additional 698 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WTRG. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Essential Utilities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $43.00 to $39.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE WTRG opened at $35.66 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.18 and a fifty-two week high of $41.78. The business has a fifty day moving average of $35.77 and a 200-day moving average of $38.02. The stock has a market cap of $9.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.86.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.65%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.