BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC Takes $3.70 Million Position in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC purchased a new position in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 99,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,695,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WTRG. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Essential Utilities by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,407,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,129,340,000 after purchasing an additional 693,988 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 5,637,022 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,997,000 after buying an additional 146,960 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 3.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,734,532 shares of the company’s stock worth $175,313,000 after buying an additional 173,319 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 4.1% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,488,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,578,000 after buying an additional 136,270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the second quarter worth $102,347,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WTRG opened at $37.96 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Essential Utilities Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.18 and a fifty-two week high of $42.37. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.58. The company has a market cap of $10.74 billion, a PE ratio of 15.75 and a beta of 0.81.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $476.97 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $472.40 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 28.09%.Essential Utilities’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th were issued a dividend of $0.3426 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is 56.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on WTRG shares. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Baird R W cut shares of Essential Utilities from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (down from $46.00) on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.00.

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.