Magnetar Financial LLC Acquires Shares of 74,894 Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 74,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,720,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,811,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,134,000 after purchasing an additional 972,803 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,842,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its position in Essential Utilities by 51.3% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,935,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,309,000 after purchasing an additional 656,136 shares during the last quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 42.6% during the 4th quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 2,043,011 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,202,000 after buying an additional 609,915 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 33.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 953,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,795,000 after purchasing an additional 237,096 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Essential Utilities Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of Essential Utilities stock opened at $38.82 on Friday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.18 and a 1 year high of $41.78. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $36.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market cap of $10.67 billion, a PE ratio of 19.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.79.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. The business had revenue of $604.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $698.77 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a $0.3255 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.35%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is 59.91%.

Essential Utilities Profile

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.