Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Purchases New Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought 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 (SEC). The fund bought 66,216 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,405,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter worth approximately $102,600,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,061,135 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,091,820,000 after purchasing an additional 2,245,256 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 6,726,215 shares of the company's stock worth $244,296,000 after buying an additional 1,597,672 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter worth approximately $52,355,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,811,851 shares of the company's stock valued at $247,134,000 after acquiring an additional 972,803 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on WTRG shares. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $41.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target 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. UBS Group dropped their target price on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, April 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of Essential Utilities stock traded up $0.09 on Monday, reaching $40.80. The stock had a trading volume of 120,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,644,064. 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 business's 50-day moving average price is $39.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.99. The stock has a market cap of $11.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.85. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.18 and a fifty-two week high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $604.38 million during 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.91%.

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.