Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Acquires 680,760 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 74.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,593,053 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 680,760 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $57,860,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Essential Utilities by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,061,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,091,820,000 after acquiring an additional 2,245,256 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 6,726,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $244,296,000 after purchasing an additional 1,597,672 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,317,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,526,000 after purchasing an additional 11,336 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,690,116 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,025,000 after purchasing an additional 236,250 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Essential Utilities by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,331,090 shares of the company’s stock worth $120,985,000 after buying an additional 601,026 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WTRG opened at $40.74 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $39.60 and a 200 day moving average of $38.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market cap of $11.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.85. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $33.18 and a 12 month high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $604.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $698.77 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI increased 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Essential Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.50.

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.