Swedbank AB Buys 8,148 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Swedbank AB increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 282,370 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,148 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $10,891,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of WTRG. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 12.1% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 139,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,171,000 after purchasing an additional 15,009 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 350.3% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 903,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,723,000 after buying an additional 702,760 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 881,658 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,912,000 after acquiring an additional 21,804 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 18.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,500,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,002,000 after acquiring an additional 234,857 shares during the period. Finally, M&G Plc bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the second quarter valued at about $482,000. 74.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:WTRG opened at $40.05 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $11.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.02, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $39.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.86. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.57 and a 52 week high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. The firm had revenue of $435.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $416.95 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a $0.3255 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WTRG shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.00.

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.