Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New $7.38 Million Investment in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 203,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,383,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WTRG. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake 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 valued at $247,134,000 after acquiring an additional 972,803 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,305,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,701,000 after purchasing an additional 82,456 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,731,011 shares of the company’s stock valued at $99,190,000 after purchasing an additional 175,707 shares in the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 4.2% in the third quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 2,531,297 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,632,000 after purchasing an additional 100,990 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 7.3% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,154,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,088,000 after purchasing an additional 145,767 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

NYSE:WTRG opened at $38.39 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.20, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.79. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.82. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.18 and a 1 year high of $41.78.

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

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.