South Dakota Investment Council Has $6.08 Million Holdings in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

South Dakota Investment Council increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 71.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 150,968 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 63,062 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council owned about 0.05% of Essential Utilities worth $6,079,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of WTRG. Pekao Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at $3,547,000. Perigon Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter worth about $958,000. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at about $638,000. Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,430,000. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its position in Essential Utilities by 130.1% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 232,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,936,000 after acquiring an additional 131,712 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTRG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Barclays lifted their target price on Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Essential Utilities to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.80.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 0.7%

Essential Utilities stock opened at $40.42 on Friday. Essential Utilities Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $36.10 and a fifty-two week high of $42.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.95. The company has a market capitalization of $11.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.52 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.88.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $861.76 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $782.90 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.34% and a net margin of 21.82%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.03 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be issued a $0.3606 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 11th. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.54%.

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.