Natixis Advisors LLC Has $3.35 Million Stock Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 38.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 92,228 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,846 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $3,350,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WTRG. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 6,342 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 61.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 70,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,546,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 19,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $709,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $180,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of WTRG opened at $38.39 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.55 billion, a PE ratio of 19.20, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.79. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $36.61 and its 200-day moving average is $37.83. 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) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $698.77 million. Equities analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is 59.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group lowered their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target 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. Evercore ISI boosted 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. Finally, 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 note on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average 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.