Vanguard Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 2.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,246,084 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 838,450 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 11.14% of Essential Utilities worth $1,246,719,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter worth approximately $638,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 12,861 shares of the company’s stock worth $508,000 after purchasing an additional 928 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 29,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,173,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 122.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 943,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,308,000 after buying an additional 519,933 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in Essential Utilities by 4.9% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 22,322 shares of the company’s stock worth $882,000 after buying an additional 1,044 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Essential Utilities stock opened at $38.65 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $10.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.04 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $38.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.96. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.96 and a 1 year high of $42.37.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be issued 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 presently 56.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WTRG shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $47.00 to $44.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Northcoast Research upgraded Essential Utilities from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $45.00 target price (down previously from $46.00) on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.