ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Buys Shares of 16,713 Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 16,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $661,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,690,116 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,025,000 after acquiring an additional 236,250 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,331,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,985,000 after buying an additional 601,026 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 16.5% during the 1st quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 2,476,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,908,000 after buying an additional 349,904 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,346,671 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,231,000 after buying an additional 192,456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,045,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,841,000 after buying an additional 18,353 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WTRG opened at $38.81 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $37.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.88 billion, a PE ratio of 16.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.78. Essential Utilities Inc. has a twelve month low of $33.18 and a twelve month high of $41.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $514.91 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $462.70 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.3426 per share. This is an increase from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $1.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is 55.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on WTRG shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.67.

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.