Baird Financial Group Inc. Purchases 63,912 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 160.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 103,689 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 63,912 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $3,766,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at about $102,600,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,061,135 shares of the company's stock worth $1,091,820,000 after acquiring an additional 2,245,256 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 6,726,215 shares of the company's stock worth $244,296,000 after acquiring an additional 1,597,672 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,355,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 51.3% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,935,818 shares of the company's stock worth $70,309,000 after acquiring an additional 656,136 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WTRG shares. StockNews.com upgraded Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, April 20th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Essential Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $41.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Evercore ISI 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, March 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Essential Utilities from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 1.3%

WTRG stock traded up $0.52 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $38.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 335,129 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,464,403. The company has a market cap of $10.66 billion, a PE ratio of 19.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.85. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $33.18 and a 12 month high of $41.78. 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's 50-day moving average is $39.48 and its 200-day moving average is $37.99.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $783.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $713.80 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.97 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. Essential Utilities's payout ratio is 58.30%.

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.