Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Invests $3.57 Million in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Key Points

• Gateway Investment Advisers initiated a new position in Essential Utilities (WTRG), buying 92,972 shares worth about $3.57 million in Q4, while Goldman Sachs more than doubled its stake to 943,797 shares; institutional investors now own roughly 74.78% of the stock.
• Essential Utilities reported quarterly EPS of $0.83 (missed by $0.07) but beat on revenue with $861.8 million, up 10% year-over-year; the company has a market cap of $10.68 billion and a trailing P/E of 19.13.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.3426 per share (annualized $1.37) for a yield of about 3.6%, with an ex-dividend date of May 12 and payment on June 1.

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 92,972 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,566,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WTRG. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter worth $638,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 12,861 shares of the company's stock worth $508,000 after purchasing an additional 928 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 29,674 shares of the company's stock worth $1,173,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 122.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 943,797 shares of the company's stock worth $37,308,000 after purchasing an additional 519,933 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 22,322 shares of the company's stock worth $882,000 after purchasing an additional 1,044 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on WTRG shares. Argus raised shares of Essential Utilities to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. UBS Group set a $41.00 target price on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $42.40.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 0.4%

WTRG stock opened at $37.69 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $39.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.68 billion, a PE ratio of 19.13 and a beta of 0.67. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 12 month low of $36.32 and a 12 month high of $42.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $861.76 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $782.90 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 21.82% and a return on equity of 8.37%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.25 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 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.3426 per share. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 12th. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.99%.

About Essential Utilities

Essential Utilities, Inc, formerly known as Aqua America, is a publicly traded water and natural gas utility holding company. Through its regulated water and wastewater subsidiaries, the company provides essential water services to residential, commercial and industrial customers. In addition, Essential Utilities delivers natural gas distribution services in Pennsylvania through its Peoples Gas subsidiary, offering integrated utility solutions under a unified corporate framework.

The company traces its roots to the Philadelphia Suburban Water Company, founded in 1886 to serve growing communities outside Philadelphia.

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