Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC grew its stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 42.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,043,011 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 609,915 shares during the quarter. Essential Utilities comprises approximately 1.3% of Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $74,202,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,071,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,250,000 after purchasing an additional 199,936 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 67,271 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,443,000 after purchasing an additional 7,500 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 38,652 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,404,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 31.3% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 240,233 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,725,000 after purchasing an additional 57,291 shares during the last quarter. Finally, John G Ullman & Associates Inc. increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 33.0% in the fourth quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 282,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,244,000 after purchasing an additional 69,928 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

WTRG stock opened at $38.86 on Wednesday. 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 1 year low of $33.18 and a 1 year high of $41.78. The firm has a market cap of $10.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.82.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. The business had revenue of $604.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $698.77 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a $0.3255 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group dropped their target price on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Essential Utilities has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.33.

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.