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

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 74.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,593,053 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 680,760 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned 0.58% of Essential Utilities worth $57,860,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at about $102,600,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,245,256 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in Essential Utilities by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 6,726,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $244,296,000 after buying an additional 1,597,672 shares in the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. bought a new position in Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter worth $52,355,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 51.3% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,935,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,309,000 after acquiring an additional 656,136 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 0.3 %

WTRG opened at $40.74 on Friday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.18 and a fifty-two week high of $41.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.22 billion, a PE ratio of 20.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The company’s 50-day moving average is $39.60 and its 200 day moving average is $38.04.

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

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on WTRG. Evercore ISI boosted 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, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price target for the company in a report 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 company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Essential Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 20th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.50.

Essential Utilities 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.