Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Shares Purchased by Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC

Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC lifted its stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 42.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,043,011 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 609,915 shares during the period. Essential Utilities comprises about 1.3% of Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC's holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC owned about 0.74% of Essential Utilities worth $74,202,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WTRG. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 1.8% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 14,243 shares of the company's stock valued at $549,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 6,342 shares of the company's stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 61.4% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 773 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 21.7% in the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 1,685 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 70,100 shares of the company's stock worth $2,546,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on WTRG shares. UBS Group cut their target price on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Essential Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $41.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

WTRG traded up $1.36 during trading on Friday, reaching $39.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,085,018 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,572,923. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.18 and a 52-week high of $41.78. The company's fifty day moving average price is $35.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.83. The company has a market capitalization of $10.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.55.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. The company had revenue of $604.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $698.77 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio is presently 59.91%.

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.