Mariner LLC Purchases 14,780 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Mariner LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 31.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 62,117 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 14,780 shares during the period. Mariner LLC's holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $2,256,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 92.8% during the fourth quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 148,009 shares of the company's stock worth $5,529,000 after buying an additional 71,222 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,811,851 shares of the company's stock valued at $247,134,000 after acquiring an additional 972,803 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter worth $638,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Essential Utilities by 33.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 953,984 shares of the company's stock worth $36,795,000 after purchasing an additional 237,096 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RWC Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter worth about $2,119,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WTRG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded 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. UBS Group lowered their target price on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, April 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WTRG traded down $0.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $40.13. 1,161,304 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,462,889. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.39. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.18 and a 52 week high of $41.78. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $38.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.96.

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%. Analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio is currently 59.91%.

Essential Utilities 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.