Voya Investment Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 80.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 59,528 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 26,611 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC's holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $2,162,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of WTRG. Synergy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 92.8% in the fourth quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 148,009 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,529,000 after buying an additional 71,222 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 16.7% in 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 last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $638,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Essential Utilities by 33.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 953,984 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,795,000 after purchasing an additional 237,096 shares during the period. Finally, RWC Asset Management LLP bought a new position in Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,119,000. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 0.9 %

Essential Utilities stock traded down $0.36 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $41.03. The stock had a trading volume of 1,209,716 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,456,702. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.18 and a fifty-two week high of $41.78. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $39.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.30 billion, a PE ratio of 20.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.85.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Essential Utilities Company 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.