Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Acquires Shares of 35,531 Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 35,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,290,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.6% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 51,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,001,000 after purchasing an additional 803 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 92.8% in the fourth quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 148,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,529,000 after purchasing an additional 71,222 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 16.7% in 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 last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter worth $638,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 8.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,871,932 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,200,000 after purchasing an additional 149,162 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 0.8 %

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

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $698.77 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.