Point72 DIFC Ltd Takes Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 21,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $812,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 4,309.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,255,483 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,424,000 after buying an additional 1,227,010 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 117.3% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,962,692 shares of the company's stock worth $75,701,000 after acquiring an additional 1,059,320 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,842,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 18.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,500,150 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,002,000 after purchasing an additional 234,857 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,871,932 shares of the company's stock valued at $72,200,000 after purchasing an additional 149,162 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTRG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Essential Utilities from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $44.00.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE WTRG traded down $0.38 during trading on Friday, reaching $38.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,127,724 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,518,174. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $33.57 and a twelve month high of $41.78. The firm has a market cap of $10.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.85. The business's fifty day moving average price is $39.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.55.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $435.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $416.95 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.30 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. Essential Utilities's payout ratio is 65.00%.

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.