Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Raises Stock Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 70,100 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $2,546,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WTRG. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. 74.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on WTRG shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Essential Utilities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $43.00 to $39.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of Essential Utilities stock opened at $35.84 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $9.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.92, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $35.99 and its 200 day moving average is $38.15. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.18 and a 1 year high of $41.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.39.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is 65.00%.

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.