Geode Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,317,312 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 11,336 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $156,526,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WTRG. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at about $102,600,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Essential Utilities by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,061,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,091,820,000 after acquiring an additional 2,245,256 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 31.2% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 6,726,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $244,296,000 after buying an additional 1,597,672 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,811,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,134,000 after purchasing an additional 972,803 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 51.3% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,935,818 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,309,000 after buying an additional 656,136 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI raised their price target 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 boosted their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Essential Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 3.1 %

WTRG stock opened at $38.35 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $37.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.83. The company has a market cap of $10.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.18, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.80. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $33.18 and a 12 month high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. As a group, analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is 59.91%.

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.