Pinebridge Investments L.P. Has $3.61 Million Stock Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Pinebridge Investments L.P. grew its holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 42.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 99,440 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 29,747 shares during the period. Pinebridge Investments L.P.'s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $3,612,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 24,652 shares of the company's stock worth $895,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its position in Essential Utilities by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 6,342 shares of the company's stock worth $230,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 70,100 shares of the company's stock worth $2,546,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 19,527 shares of the company's stock valued at $709,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,946 shares of the company's stock valued at $180,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of WTRG traded down $0.44 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $40.69. The stock had a trading volume of 313,637 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,459,558. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.21 billion, a PE ratio of 20.33, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.80. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $33.18 and a 12 month high of $41.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.55. The company's 50-day moving average is $39.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.01.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The firm had revenue of $604.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $698.77 million. Research analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio is presently 59.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.