Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Shares Purchased by Haverford Trust Co

Haverford Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 6.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,186 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,613 shares during the quarter. Haverford Trust Co’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $987,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.6% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 51,881 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,001,000 after purchasing an additional 803 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 92.8% in the 4th quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 148,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,529,000 after buying an additional 71,222 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 16.7% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter worth $638,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 8.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,871,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,200,000 after purchasing an additional 149,162 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WTRG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $38.12 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.82. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $33.18 and a twelve month high of $41.78. 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 capitalization of $10.48 billion, a PE ratio of 19.06, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.79.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The business had revenue of $604.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $698.77 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 59.91%.

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.