Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG – Get Rating) by 495.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,363 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,966 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC's holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $97,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 15.7% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 11,774 shares of the company's stock valued at $602,000 after acquiring an additional 1,602 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 80.7% during the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 37,787 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,932,000 after acquiring an additional 16,871 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 12.1% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,186,342 shares of the company's stock valued at $60,662,000 after acquiring an additional 127,695 shares during the last quarter. Aviva PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 1st quarter valued at $5,907,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 3,972.9% during the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 524,708 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,828,000 after acquiring an additional 511,825 shares during the last quarter. 69.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
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Essential Utilities Trading Up 0.3 %
NYSE WTRG opened at $47.06 on Monday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.50 and a 1-year high of $52.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The company has a market capitalization of $12.34 billion, a PE ratio of 26.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.77. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $47.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.05.
Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 7th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.03. Essential Utilities had a net
margin of 22.04% and a return on equity of 8.84%. The business had revenue of $434.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $376.00 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 10th will be paid a $0.287 dividend. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 9th. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.97%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
WTRG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 29th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Essential Utilities to $44.00 in a report on Thursday, October 20th. StockNews.com upgraded Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Essential Utilities to $53.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $51.86.
Insider Transactions at Essential Utilities
In other news, Director Ellen T. Ruff sold 8,560 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.96, for a total value of $410,537.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,972 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,293,577.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Essential Utilities Profile
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Essential Utilities, Inc is a holding company, which engages in providing water, wastewater and natural gas services through its subsidiaries. It operates through the Regulated Water and Regulated Natural Gas segments. The Regulated Water segment includes water and wastewater regulated utility companies.
Further Reading
- Get a free copy of the StockNews.com research report on Essential Utilities (WTRG)
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