Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Raises Holdings in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 13.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 245,229 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 29,989 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.09% of Essential Utilities worth $9,407,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GoalVest Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. American National Bank & Trust bought a new position in Essential Utilities during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lifted its position in Essential Utilities by 1,163.8% during the third quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 31,466.7% in the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 947 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 944 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 43.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,114 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on WTRG shares. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Argus upgraded Essential Utilities to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Barclays set a $38.00 target price on Essential Utilities and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.20.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of WTRG opened at $40.37 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $39.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.27 and a beta of 0.82. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 12-month low of $36.32 and a 12-month high of $42.37.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.11. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 24.91% and a return on equity of 9.18%. The company had revenue of $699.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $611.60 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research 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 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be issued a $0.3426 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 61.99%.

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.