Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations Invests $311,000 in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 8,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $311,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Essential Utilities in the third quarter worth about $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 75.0% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in Essential Utilities during the third quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter worth $60,000. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE:WTRG opened at $38.62 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $10.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.79. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $33.18 and a twelve month high of $41.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a 50-day moving average of $36.92 and a 200-day moving average of $37.82.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. The firm had revenue of $604.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $698.77 million. Analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is presently 59.91%.

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.