Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG Stock Holdings Increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 587.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,071,929 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,479,762 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 1.44% of Essential Utilities worth $162,472,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Apella Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 3.2% in the third quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 8,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $345,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC raised its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 18,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $703,000 after buying an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 104,188 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,157,000 after buying an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 13,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $520,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the period. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.7% in the third quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 17,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $689,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $38.65 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 12 month low of $35.96 and a 12 month high of $42.37. The company has a market cap of $10.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.04 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.97.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.3426 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $1.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 56.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WTRG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird cut Essential Utilities from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Janney Montgomery Scott cut Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered 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 report on Tuesday, October 28th. Barclays set a $38.00 target price on Essential Utilities and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Northcoast Research raised Essential Utilities from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.29.

About Essential Utilities

Essential Utilities, Inc, formerly known as Aqua America, is a publicly traded water and natural gas utility holding company. Through its regulated water and wastewater subsidiaries, the company provides essential water services to residential, commercial and industrial customers. In addition, Essential Utilities delivers natural gas distribution services in Pennsylvania through its Peoples Gas subsidiary, offering integrated utility solutions under a unified corporate framework.

The company traces its roots to the Philadelphia Suburban Water Company, founded in 1886 to serve growing communities outside Philadelphia.