Sterling Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 55.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,924 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,324 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $542,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 110,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,021,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 98.9% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 778 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter worth $7,383,000. Texas Yale Capital Corp. raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 76,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,795,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 353.9% in the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 219,910 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,713,000 after acquiring an additional 171,459 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on WTRG shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Essential Utilities stock opened at $40.50 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.25, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.80. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $38.32 and a 200-day moving average of $37.88. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.18 and a 52-week high of $41.78.

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

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.91%.

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.