Nordea Investment Management AB Acquires 972,803 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 16.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,811,851 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 972,803 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB owned 2.48% of Essential Utilities worth $247,134,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,305,976 shares of the company's stock worth $165,701,000 after purchasing an additional 82,456 shares during the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. increased its position in Essential Utilities by 4.2% during the third quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 2,531,297 shares of the company's stock worth $97,632,000 after buying an additional 100,990 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Essential Utilities by 7.3% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,154,215 shares of the company's stock worth $83,088,000 after buying an additional 145,767 shares during the last quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 0.5% during the third quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,034,497 shares of the company's stock valued at $78,471,000 after buying an additional 10,560 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 117.3% in the third quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,962,692 shares of the company's stock worth $75,701,000 after buying an additional 1,059,320 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of Essential Utilities stock traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $35.27. The company had a trading volume of 1,434,361 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,088,140. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.57 and a 1-year high of $41.78. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $38.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.86. The stock has a market cap of $9.69 billion, a PE ratio of 17.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.86. 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 (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 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 $435.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.95 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.30 EPS. Essential Utilities's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.69%. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on WTRG shares. Robert W. Baird raised 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, November 6th. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Essential Utilities from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Essential Utilities from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $43.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.20.

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.