Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Raises Stock Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 11.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,069,377 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 313,277 shares during the quarter. Essential Utilities makes up 1.4% of Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $114,641,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 0.7% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,386,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,267,000 after buying an additional 24,991 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 6.1% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,918,202 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,182,000 after buying an additional 166,891 shares during the last quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 3.6% in the third quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,966,687 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,516,000 after buying an additional 67,465 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 4.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,768,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,715,000 after buying an additional 74,800 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Essential Utilities from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.21, for a total transaction of $207,073.65. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 57,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,149,100.76. The transaction was disclosed in a 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 %

Essential Utilities stock traded up $0.33 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $36.80. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 342,848 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,795,481. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.60, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.82. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.07 and a 52-week high of $43.74.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $479.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $708.50 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.68% and a net margin of 24.26%. The company’s revenue was down 32.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.44 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.3071 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.34%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.13%.

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.