PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab Acquires 73,600 Shares of Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab grew its holdings in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 114.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 137,908 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 73,600 shares during the period. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $5,283,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,833,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $530,641,000 after purchasing an additional 241,176 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 33.4% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 6,335,695 shares of the company’s stock worth $243,023,000 after purchasing an additional 1,586,622 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Essential Utilities by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,233,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $200,197,000 after purchasing an additional 120,947 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in Essential Utilities by 19.5% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,539,977 shares of the company’s stock worth $174,163,000 after purchasing an additional 741,587 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 19.0% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,149,063 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,158,000 after buying an additional 662,334 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WTRG. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Essential Utilities to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Essential Utilities stock opened at $40.06 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $11.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.44 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $38.45 and its 200 day moving average is $38.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 52-week low of $36.10 and a 52-week high of $42.37.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $530.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $538.90 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 21.60% and a return on equity of 8.23%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be issued a $0.3606 dividend. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.90%.

About Essential Utilities

Essential Utilities, Inc, formerly known as Aqua America, is a publicly traded water and natural gas utility holding company. Through its regulated water and wastewater subsidiaries, the company provides essential water services to residential, commercial and industrial customers. In addition, Essential Utilities delivers natural gas distribution services in Pennsylvania through its Peoples Gas subsidiary, offering integrated utility solutions under a unified corporate framework.

The company traces its roots to the Philadelphia Suburban Water Company, founded in 1886 to serve growing communities outside Philadelphia.