Nomura Holdings Inc. Makes New $1.65 Million Investment in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 45,283 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,645,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Essential Utilities by 219.4% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 122,581 shares of the company's stock worth $4,452,000 after purchasing an additional 84,208 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 175,500 shares of the company's stock worth $6,374,000 after purchasing an additional 4,800 shares during the last quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. now owns 201,926 shares of the company's stock worth $7,334,000 after purchasing an additional 1,719 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Essential Utilities by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,919 shares of the company's stock valued at $397,000 after buying an additional 856 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 50,150 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,821,000 after buying an additional 1,490 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WTRG. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, April 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Essential Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $41.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of WTRG traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $39.30. The stock had a trading volume of 1,083,847 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,469,373. The business has a fifty day moving average of $39.48 and a 200 day moving average of $38.00. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $33.18 and a 12 month high of $41.78. The firm has a market cap of $11.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.65, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.55.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.23. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. The business had revenue of $783.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $713.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.97 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.30%.

Essential Utilities 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.