Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG Shares Acquired by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 257,585 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 44,855 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $10,278,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SouthState Corp boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 834.7% in the 2nd quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 701 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 626 shares in the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 1,163.8% in the 3rd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 43.6% during the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,114 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in Essential Utilities by 141.2% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 710 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 0.5%

WTRG opened at $40.15 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.17 and a beta of 0.81. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $38.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.02. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 1-year low of $36.32 and a 1-year high of $42.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.11. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 9.18% and a net margin of 24.91%.The firm had revenue of $699.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $611.60 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.3426 per share. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 12th. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 61.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Northcoast Research raised shares of Essential Utilities from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Barclays set a $38.00 price target on Essential Utilities and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.67.

Essential Utilities Profile

Essential Utilities, Inc, formerly known as Aqua America, is a publicly traded water and natural gas utility holding company. Through its regulated water and wastewater subsidiaries, the company provides essential water services to residential, commercial and industrial customers. In addition, Essential Utilities delivers natural gas distribution services in Pennsylvania through its Peoples Gas subsidiary, offering integrated utility solutions under a unified corporate framework.

The company traces its roots to the Philadelphia Suburban Water Company, founded in 1886 to serve growing communities outside Philadelphia.