Natixis Advisors L.P. Grows Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 15.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,956 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,277 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $932,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 14.2% during the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 235,841 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,096,000 after buying an additional 29,372 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 94.0% in the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 81,799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,808,000 after buying an additional 39,643 shares during the period. Mariner LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 34,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,180,000 after acquiring an additional 3,104 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,583,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Essential Utilities by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,168,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $932,698,000 after purchasing an additional 99,560 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Essential Utilities from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 6th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE:WTRG opened at $39.41 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $10.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.80. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $36.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.22. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.07 and a twelve month high of $43.26.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 29.52% and a return on equity of 8.62%. The business had revenue of $479.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $708.50 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.44 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 32.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a $0.3071 dividend. This is an increase from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.23 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.82%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essential Utilities news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,023 shares of Essential Utilities stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.56, for a total value of $73,960.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 13,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $488,368.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Essential Utilities news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,023 shares of Essential Utilities stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.56, for a total value of $73,960.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 13,358 shares in the company, valued at approximately $488,368.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.21, for a total transaction of $207,073.65. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 57,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,149,100.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.