Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Shares Acquired by Machina Capital S.A.S.

Machina Capital S.A.S. boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 36.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 8,307 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,220 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $302,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WTRG. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,811,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,134,000 after purchasing an additional 972,803 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,842,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 51.3% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,935,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,309,000 after purchasing an additional 656,136 shares in the last quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 42.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 609,915 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 237,096 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 3.5 %

Essential Utilities stock opened at $39.81 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $35.85 and its 200-day moving average is $37.80. 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 company has a market cap of $10.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.91, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.79.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The company had revenue of $604.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $698.77 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be given a $0.3255 dividend. 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 3.27%. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 59.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective 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. 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 research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.50.

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.