Geode Capital Management LLC Has $156.53 Million Stock Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,317,312 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,336 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 1.57% of Essential Utilities worth $156,526,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 75.0% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,104 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $90,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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 report on Thursday, February 27th. 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 report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com cut Essential Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, 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 note on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.50.

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Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of WTRG traded up $0.92 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $39.27. 1,681,862 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,486,615. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.18 and a 52 week high of $41.78. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $37.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.83. The firm has a market cap of $10.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.80.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $604.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $698.77 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio is 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.