AGP Franklin LLC Invests $440,000 in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

AGP Franklin LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 12,119 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $440,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTRG. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 24,652 shares of the company's stock valued at $895,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 6,342 shares of the company's stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 70,100 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,546,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its stake in Essential Utilities by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 19,527 shares of the company's stock worth $709,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Essential Utilities by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,946 shares of the company's stock worth $180,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of WTRG traded up $0.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $40.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 962,788 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,475,619. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $38.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.89. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.18 and a fifty-two week high of $41.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.25, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.80.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $604.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $698.77 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. On average, research analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio is presently 59.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on WTRG shares. UBS Group lowered 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. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded 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. StockNews.com raised Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.50.

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.