DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Has $13 Million Stock Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 0.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 354,731 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,589 shares during the quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $13,001,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WTRG. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,992,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,045,504,000 after acquiring an additional 823,495 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Essential Utilities by 17,553.7% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,425,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,156,000 after purchasing an additional 3,405,947 shares in the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 3,069,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,641,000 after buying an additional 313,277 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter worth about $97,288,000. Finally, Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,010,380 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,485,000 after buying an additional 144,030 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Essential Utilities

In related news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,342 shares of Essential Utilities stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.43, for a total transaction of $87,661.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 53,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,998,425.13. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on WTRG shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Essential Utilities from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.40.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WTRG traded up $0.39 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $41.49. 2,037,312 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,417,242. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.35 billion, a PE ratio of 19.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.83. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.07 and a 12 month high of $41.78. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $38.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.11.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $612.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $747.44 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 29.52%. As a group, analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This is an increase from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is presently 58.29%.

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.