Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Shares Bought by Mariner LLC

Mariner LLC lifted its stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 31.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 62,117 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 14,780 shares during the period. Mariner LLC's holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $2,256,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cohen & Steers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at about $52,355,000. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 25.8% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 442,767 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,080,000 after purchasing an additional 90,746 shares in the last quarter. Seeds Investor LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Seeds Investor LLC now owns 8,012 shares of the company's stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 11,028 shares of the company's stock worth $401,000 after buying an additional 617 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Essential Utilities by 55.5% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 14,924 shares of the company's stock valued at $542,000 after buying an additional 5,324 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on WTRG shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised Essential Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $41.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, April 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE WTRG traded up $0.21 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $40.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 117,580 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,457,144. 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 business's 50 day simple moving average is $39.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.97. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.18 and a fifty-two week high of $41.78. The company has a market cap of $11.16 billion, a PE ratio of 20.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.80.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors 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 yield of 3.22%. Essential Utilities's payout ratio is presently 59.91%.

About Essential Utilities

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.