Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Raises Stock Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd raised its position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 48.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,013 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,599 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $506,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 1.8% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 14,243 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 61.4% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 21.7% in the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 1,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $180,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 10.6% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 3,477 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of WTRG stock opened at $35.46 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $36.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.45. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.18 and a 1-year high of $41.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.74 billion, a PE ratio of 17.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 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) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $435.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.95 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. Essential Utilities’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.30 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on WTRG. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group cut their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut Essential Utilities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $43.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.00.

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.