APG Asset Management N.V. Raises Stock Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

APG Asset Management N.V. boosted its position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 353.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 219,910 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 171,459 shares during the quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. owned about 0.08% of Essential Utilities worth $7,713,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blair William & Co. IL increased its holdings in Essential Utilities by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 24,652 shares of the company's stock valued at $895,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased 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 acquiring an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 70,100 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,546,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its position in Essential Utilities by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 19,527 shares of the company's stock valued at $709,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,946 shares of the company's stock valued at $180,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTRG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Essential Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $41.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Essential Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of WTRG stock traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $39.91. 863,351 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,485,834. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.18 and a 52-week 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.00 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $604.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $698.77 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. Research analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a $0.3255 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio is 59.91%.

Essential Utilities Company 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.