Boston Trust Walden Corp Raises Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 8.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,126,907 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 164,215 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned 0.77% of Essential Utilities worth $77,249,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its position in Essential Utilities by 4,309.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,255,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,424,000 after buying an additional 1,227,010 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,811,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,134,000 after acquiring an additional 972,803 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,842,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Essential Utilities by 33.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 953,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,795,000 after purchasing an additional 237,096 shares during the period. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities in the third quarter worth approximately $7,301,000. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WTRG. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Essential Utilities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $43.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group cut their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Essential Utilities presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 0.0 %

NYSE WTRG opened at $35.46 on Monday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.18 and a 52 week high of $41.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a market capitalization of $9.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.87. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $36.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.43.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The company had revenue of $435.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $416.95 million. The firm’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.30 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given 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 3.67%. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is 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.