ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd Takes Position in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd bought a new stake in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,211,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $128,137,000. Essential Utilities makes up 2.9% of ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd owned about 1.14% of Essential Utilities as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WTRG. Synergy Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 351.4% during the 3rd quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 234,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,057,000 after buying an additional 182,301 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 25.5% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,972,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $354,057,000 after buying an additional 1,822,306 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 966,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,571,000 after buying an additional 135,899 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,709,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,091,000 after acquiring an additional 29,904 shares during the period. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $638,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on WTRG. Robert W. Baird cut Essential Utilities from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $45.00 target price (down previously from $46.00) on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Barclays set a $38.00 target price on Essential Utilities and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.29.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of Essential Utilities stock opened at $38.65 on Friday. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.96 and a 52 week high of $42.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $38.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.96. The company has a market cap of $10.94 billion, a PE ratio of 16.04 and a beta of 0.81.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.3426 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is 56.85%.

Essential Utilities Profile

Essential Utilities, Inc, formerly known as Aqua America, is a publicly traded water and natural gas utility holding company. Through its regulated water and wastewater subsidiaries, the company provides essential water services to residential, commercial and industrial customers. In addition, Essential Utilities delivers natural gas distribution services in Pennsylvania through its Peoples Gas subsidiary, offering integrated utility solutions under a unified corporate framework.

The company traces its roots to the Philadelphia Suburban Water Company, founded in 1886 to serve growing communities outside Philadelphia.