Resolution Capital Ltd Invests $1.87 Million in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Resolution Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 51,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,873,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $102,600,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Essential Utilities by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,061,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,091,820,000 after purchasing an additional 2,245,256 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,597,672 shares during the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at $52,355,000. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 74.6% in the 4th quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 1,593,053 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,860,000 after purchasing an additional 680,760 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WTRG. 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. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Essential Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE WTRG opened at $36.93 on Thursday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $33.18 and a twelve month 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 $10.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.47, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.00.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.23. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The business had revenue of $783.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $713.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a $0.3255 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.53%. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 58.30%.

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.