Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Increases Stake in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 66.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 265,997 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 106,205 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $9,879,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. SouthState Corp increased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 834.7% during the 2nd quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 626 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities during the first quarter worth $31,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities during the second quarter valued at $31,000. National Pension Service grew its position in Essential Utilities by 75.0% during the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in Essential Utilities by 101.8% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 686 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE:WTRG opened at $37.22 on Wednesday. Essential Utilities Inc. has a twelve month low of $33.18 and a twelve month high of $42.37. The company has a market cap of $10.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.44 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $39.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.60.

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

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 12th were given a dividend of $0.3426 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Essential Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 11th. Northcoast Research upgraded Essential Utilities from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Zacks Research upgraded Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $45.00 target price (down previously from $46.00) on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $47.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.00.

Essential Utilities Company 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.