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

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

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WTRG. Synergy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 351.4% in the third quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 234,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,057,000 after acquiring an additional 182,301 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 25.5% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 16.4% in the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 966,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,571,000 after purchasing an additional 135,899 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,709,048 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,091,000 after purchasing an additional 29,904 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter worth $638,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WTRG opened at $38.65 on Friday. 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 50 day moving average price of $38.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.97. 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 twelve month low of $35.96 and a twelve month high of $42.37.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be paid a $0.3426 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTRG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Northcoast Research upgraded 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. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Barclays set a $38.00 target price on Essential Utilities and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Robert W. Baird downgraded Essential Utilities from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.29.

Essential Utilities Profile

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.