Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $56 Million Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 18.6% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,500,150 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 234,857 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $56,002,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 24.7% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 152,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,636,000 after buying an additional 30,152 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 12.1% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 139,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,171,000 after purchasing an additional 15,009 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 17,553.7% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,425,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $126,156,000 after purchasing an additional 3,405,947 shares during the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Essential Utilities during the first quarter worth $46,280,000. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 350.3% during the second quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 903,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,723,000 after purchasing an additional 702,760 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,342 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.43, for a total value of $87,661.06. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 53,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,998,425.13. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Friday, September 20th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.00.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE WTRG opened at $38.40 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $39.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.02. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.07 and a 1 year high of $41.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.85.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $434.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $442.76 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.16% and a net margin of 28.74%. The business’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.34 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.95 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a $0.3255 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.61%.

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.