Aigen Investment Management LP Buys Shares of 30,035 Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 30,035 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,158,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Essential Utilities in the 1st quarter worth $46,280,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 4,309.4% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,255,483 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,424,000 after purchasing an additional 1,227,010 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 117.3% in the third quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,962,692 shares of the company's stock valued at $75,701,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059,320 shares during the period. Energy Income Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,917,000. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the second quarter valued at approximately $11,853,000. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on WTRG. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Friday, September 20th. 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 $44.00 to $41.00 in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $44.00.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of WTRG traded down $0.52 on Wednesday, reaching $38.53. 1,299,204 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,533,722. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $33.57 and a 12 month high of $41.78. 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 market capitalization of $10.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $39.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The company had revenue of $435.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $416.95 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.30 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio is currently 65.00%.

About Essential Utilities

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.