Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Position Raised by Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 18.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 32,565 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,152 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $1,183,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WTRG. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Essential Utilities by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,811,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,134,000 after purchasing an additional 972,803 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the third quarter worth approximately $30,842,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 51.3% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,935,818 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,309,000 after buying an additional 656,136 shares in the last quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 609,915 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 33.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 953,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,795,000 after acquiring an additional 237,096 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE WTRG opened at $39.54 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.77, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.79. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $33.18 and a 12 month 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. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.83.

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

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be given 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 3.29%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WTRG shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. UBS Group decreased their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.50.

About Essential Utilities

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.