Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 838,450 Shares of Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 2.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 31,246,084 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 838,450 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Essential Utilities worth $1,246,719,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Synergy Asset Management LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 182,301 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 25.5% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,972,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $354,057,000 after purchasing an additional 1,822,306 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 966,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,571,000 after purchasing an additional 135,899 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.1% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,709,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,091,000 after buying an additional 29,904 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter worth $638,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of WTRG opened at $38.65 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $38.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.96. The company has a market capitalization of $10.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.04 and a beta of 0.81. Essential Utilities Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.96 and a fifty-two week high of $42.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.60.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.3426 per share. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 12th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WTRG shares. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $45.00 target price (down from $46.00) on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird downgraded Essential Utilities from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Northcoast Research raised Essential Utilities from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group cut Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.29.

About Essential Utilities

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.