Magellan Asset Management Ltd Has $8.54 Million Stock Position in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Magellan Asset Management Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 7.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 214,023 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,664 shares during the period. Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $8,540,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Apella Capital LLC raised its position in Essential Utilities by 3.2% during the third quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 8,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $345,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 18,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $703,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 104,188 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,157,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 13,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $520,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the period. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 17,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $689,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays set a $38.00 price target on Essential Utilities and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $44.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Northcoast Research raised Essential Utilities from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (down from $46.00) on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.29.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

WTRG opened at $39.69 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.99. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.96 and a 1 year high of $42.37. The company has a market capitalization of $11.24 billion, a PE ratio of 16.47 and a beta of 0.81.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

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

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.