Norges Bank Acquires New Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Norges Bank bought a new position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,824,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,600,000. Norges Bank owned about 1.03% of Essential Utilities at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 75.0% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at about $60,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter worth about $90,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter valued at about $150,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WTRG opened at $39.54 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.89 billion, a PE ratio of 19.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $37.19 and a 200-day moving average of $37.81. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a one year low of $33.18 and a one year high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $604.38 million during 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WTRG shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.50.

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.