Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG Shares Bought by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 966,685 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 135,899 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC owned about 0.34% of Essential Utilities worth $38,571,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Synergy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Essential Utilities by 351.4% in the 3rd quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 234,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,057,000 after acquiring an additional 182,301 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 25.5% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,972,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $354,057,000 after purchasing an additional 1,822,306 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.1% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,709,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,091,000 after purchasing an additional 29,904 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter worth about $638,000. Finally, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI purchased a new position in Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,088,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE:WTRG opened at $36.91 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $38.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.89. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 1-year low of $34.58 and a 1-year high of $42.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.32 and a beta of 0.81.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be paid a $0.3426 dividend. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 9th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is 56.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note 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 research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Zacks Research upgraded Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Barclays set a $38.00 price target on shares of Essential Utilities and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. 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 data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.