Wells Fargo & Company MN Has $20.56 Million Stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 565,983 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 38,439 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned about 0.21% of Essential Utilities worth $20,557,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $102,600,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,061,135 shares of the company's stock worth $1,091,820,000 after acquiring an additional 2,245,256 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 6,726,215 shares of the company's stock worth $244,296,000 after acquiring an additional 1,597,672 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Essential Utilities by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,811,851 shares of the company's stock valued at $247,134,000 after purchasing an additional 972,803 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in Essential Utilities by 51.3% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,935,818 shares of the company's stock worth $70,309,000 after purchasing an additional 656,136 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WTRG traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $39.91. 1,479,356 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,485,794. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a one year low of $33.18 and a one year high of $41.78. The company's 50 day moving average is $38.11 and its 200 day moving average is $37.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.80.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $604.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $698.77 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. On average, research analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTRG has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com lowered Essential Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.50.

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.