Aigen Investment Management LP Makes New $1.16 Million Investment in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

by · The Markets Daily

Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG – Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 30,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,158,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 24.7% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 152,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,636,000 after buying an additional 30,152 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 12.1% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 139,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,171,000 after purchasing an additional 15,009 shares in the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 1st quarter valued at about $46,280,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 350.3% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 903,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,723,000 after purchasing an additional 702,760 shares during the period. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its stake in Essential Utilities by 231.2% during the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 306,588 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,359,000 after buying an additional 214,031 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 1.0 %

Essential Utilities stock opened at $39.05 on Wednesday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.28 and a fifty-two week high of $41.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.84. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $39.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.55.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The firm had revenue of $435.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $416.95 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 65.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on WTRG shares. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $44.00 to $41.00 in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Friday, September 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.00.

Read Our Latest Analysis on Essential Utilities

Essential Utilities Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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