M&G Plc Buys New Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

M&G Plc purchased a new position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 13,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $482,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Essential Utilities by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,992,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,045,504,000 after acquiring an additional 823,495 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted 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 acquiring an additional 3,405,947 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. grew its stake in Essential Utilities by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 3,069,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,641,000 after purchasing an additional 313,277 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at $97,288,000. Finally, Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,010,380 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,485,000 after buying an additional 144,030 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,342 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.43, for a total value of $87,661.06. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 53,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,998,425.13. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 0.9 %

WTRG opened at $39.46 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.52. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a one year low of $32.07 and a one year high of $41.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $38.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.25.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.02). Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.16% and a net margin of 28.74%. The business had revenue of $434.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $442.76 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.34 earnings per share. Essential Utilities’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th will be given a dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date is 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 yield of 3.30%. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is presently 61.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective 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. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on 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 MarketBeat, Essential Utilities presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.40.

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.