Deutsche Bank AG Has $28.21 Million Stock Position in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 1.7% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 713,737 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,607 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $28,214,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WTRG. Bfsg LLC lifted its position in Essential Utilities by 22.1% in the first quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 1,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 24.7% in the 1st quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 1,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 23,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $946,000 after buying an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 16,322 shares of the company’s stock worth $645,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares during the period. Finally, Apella Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 7,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 0.6%

WTRG opened at $38.78 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $10.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.64, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.73. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.12. Essential Utilities Inc. has a twelve month low of $33.18 and a twelve month high of $41.65.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $514.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $462.70 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.28 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.3426 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $1.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is 55.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Essential Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. 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, Essential Utilities presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.67.

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.