Nordea Investment Management AB Buys 9,004 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG – Get Rating) by 57.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 24,589 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,004 shares during the quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $1,191,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WTRG. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Essential Utilities by 15.7% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 11,774 shares of the company’s stock worth $602,000 after acquiring an additional 1,602 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 80.7% in the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 37,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,932,000 after purchasing an additional 16,871 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 12.1% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,186,342 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,662,000 after purchasing an additional 127,695 shares during the last quarter. Aviva PLC bought a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 1st quarter worth approximately $5,907,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its position in Essential Utilities by 3,972.9% during the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 524,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,828,000 after acquiring an additional 511,825 shares during the last quarter. 69.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:WTRG opened at $42.53 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $11.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.50 and a twelve month high of $52.42. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $42.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.36.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 8th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.02). Essential Utilities had a net margin of 19.75% and a return on equity of 8.54%. The firm had revenue of $726.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $682.87 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.76 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.287 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 11th. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.90%.

Insider Transactions at Essential Utilities

In other news, CEO Chris Franklin bought 37,245 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 8th. The stock was bought at an average price of $40.70 per share, with a total value of $1,515,871.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 37,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,515,871.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTRG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Essential Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $54.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Monday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Essential Utilities from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $54.00 price target on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Thursday, March 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.38.

Essential Utilities Profile

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Essential Utilities, Inc is a holding company, which engages in providing water, wastewater and natural gas services through its subsidiaries. It operates through the Regulated Water and Regulated Natural Gas segments. The Regulated Water segment includes water and wastewater regulated utility companies.