Sei Investments Co. Buys 106,735 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 163.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 172,156 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 106,735 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co. owned 0.06% of Essential Utilities worth $6,253,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,811,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,134,000 after acquiring an additional 972,803 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities during the third quarter worth approximately $30,842,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 51.3% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,935,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,309,000 after purchasing an additional 656,136 shares during the last quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC boosted its stake in Essential Utilities by 42.6% in the 4th quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 2,043,011 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,202,000 after purchasing an additional 609,915 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Essential Utilities by 33.1% in 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. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of WTRG stock opened at $39.55 on Tuesday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.18 and a fifty-two week high of $41.78. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $37.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.81. 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 has a market cap of $10.90 billion, a PE ratio of 19.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.79.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates of $698.77 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. Equities analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WTRG shares. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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 report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently 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.