2,989,455 Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG Shares Acquired by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management sharply increased its Essential Utilities stake by purchasing 2,989,455 shares in the third quarter, bringing its holdings to 3.23 million shares worth approximately $126.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 74.78% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains moderately positive, with the stock carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $43.25, compared with a recent price of $40.84.
• Essential Utilities reported quarterly EPS of $0.38, slightly above estimates, while revenue rose 3.1% year over year. The company also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.3606 per share, implying a 3.5% annual yield.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 1,224.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,233,682 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,989,455 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 1.14% of Essential Utilities worth $126,728,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in Essential Utilities by 1,235.3% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 2,310 shares of the company's stock worth $91,000 after acquiring an additional 2,137 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 108.2% in the 3rd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 29,056 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,139,000 after purchasing an additional 15,099 shares during the last quarter. RTD Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 30.1% in the 3rd quarter. RTD Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 9,238 shares of the company's stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 2,135 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 54.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 8,058 shares of the company's stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 2,851 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,436 shares of the company's stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 912 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essential Utilities

In other news, insider Colleen Arnold sold 2,855 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.55, for a total value of $112,915.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 17,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $686,073.85. This represents a 14.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WTRG. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Essential Utilities from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. UBS Group cut their price target on Essential Utilities from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised Essential Utilities to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.25.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Essential Utilities stock opened at $40.84 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $11.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.63. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 12 month low of $36.10 and a 12 month high of $42.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The stock's 50-day moving average is $40.38 and its 200-day moving average is $39.21.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $530.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $538.90 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 21.60% and a return on equity of 8.23%. The company's revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.38 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.3606 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 11th. This is an increase from Essential Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.3426. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio is presently 73.47%.

Essential Utilities Company Profile

Essential Utilities, Inc is a regulated utility company that provides essential water, wastewater and natural gas services to residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers. Its water operations include the treatment, distribution and supply of drinking water, while its wastewater business manages the collection and treatment of sewage. The company also distributes natural gas through regulated utility operations.

The company serves customers across several U.S. states, including Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Texas, North Carolina, New Jersey, Indiana, Virginia, Georgia and West Virginia.

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