Nordea Investment Management AB Increases Stock Position in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 25.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 8,972,565 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,822,306 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $354,057,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 351.4% in the 3rd quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 234,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,057,000 after acquiring an additional 182,301 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at about $638,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 40.2% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 215,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,588,000 after buying an additional 61,690 shares during the period. Greenland Capital Management LP increased its position in Essential Utilities by 155.9% in the 2nd quarter. Greenland Capital Management LP now owns 465,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,300,000 after acquiring an additional 283,790 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 2,624,985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,737,000 after acquiring an additional 80,102 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

WTRG stock opened at $39.13 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $38.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.68. The company has a market cap of $11.08 billion, a PE ratio of 16.24 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.18 and a 12-month high of $42.37.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.06. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 28.09% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The firm had revenue of $476.97 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $472.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.25 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th were given a dividend of $0.3426 per share. This represents a $1.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 12th. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is presently 56.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WTRG. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $45.00 price target (down from $46.00) on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Essential Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 11th. Zacks Research upgraded Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Baird R W lowered shares of Essential Utilities from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.29.

Essential Utilities Company 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.