Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Makes New Investment in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 76,853 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,793,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 565,983 shares of the company's stock worth $20,557,000 after buying an additional 38,439 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Essential Utilities by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,317,312 shares of the company's stock worth $156,526,000 after acquiring an additional 11,336 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,046,443 shares of the company's stock worth $38,007,000 after purchasing an additional 49,044 shares in the last quarter. Rodgers Brothers Inc. boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 34.6% in the 4th quarter. Rodgers Brothers Inc. now owns 71,913 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,612,000 after purchasing an additional 18,475 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 121.4% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 109,618 shares of the company's stock worth $3,970,000 after purchasing an additional 60,107 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WTRG shares. UBS Group dropped 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 report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com cut Essential Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Essential Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $41.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of WTRG stock traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $40.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 298,065 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,481,353. 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 fifty-two week low of $33.18 and a fifty-two week high of $41.78. The company has a market capitalization of $11.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.17, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.80. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $38.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.84.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last released 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 business 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities's 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.