Jones Financial Companies Lllp Raises Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 31.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 240,233 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 57,291 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $8,725,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,811,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,134,000 after purchasing an additional 972,803 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,842,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 51.3% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,935,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,309,000 after acquiring an additional 656,136 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 33.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 953,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,795,000 after acquiring an additional 237,096 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the third quarter worth $7,301,000. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of WTRG opened at $39.11 on Tuesday. 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 50-day moving average price of $35.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.82. The company has a market cap of $10.74 billion, a PE ratio of 19.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.86. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.18 and a 12-month high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $698.77 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be given a $0.3255 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WTRG. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.33.

Essential Utilities Profile

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.