Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,196,946 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 32,548 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned about 0.44% of Essential Utilities worth $43,473,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WTRG. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 39.5% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 24,359 shares of the company's stock valued at $963,000 after acquiring an additional 6,900 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in Essential Utilities by 99.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 54,809 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,114,000 after purchasing an additional 27,291 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 997,399 shares of the company's stock worth $39,796,000 after buying an additional 10,427 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 33.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 953,984 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,795,000 after acquiring an additional 237,096 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 7.2% during 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WTRG. 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 lifted their target price 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 objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, April 20th. Finally, 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of WTRG traded down $0.41 on Friday, reaching $39.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 352,408 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,457,699. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $38.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.96. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $11.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.98, 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $604.38 million for 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%. Research analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be given 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 3.26%. Essential Utilities's payout ratio is currently 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.