Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Buys 313,277 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. grew its stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 11.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,069,377 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 313,277 shares during the quarter. Essential Utilities makes up about 1.4% of Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. owned approximately 1.12% of Essential Utilities worth $114,641,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WTRG. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 604.0% during the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 711 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 78.9% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 737 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 4,210.0% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 862 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 842 shares during the period. Resources Management Corp CT ADV raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 250.0% in the third quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 1,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the period. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the third quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WTRG traded up $0.33 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $36.80. The company had a trading volume of 342,848 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,795,481. The company has a market capitalization of $10.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.82. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.07 and a 1 year high of $43.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $35.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.79.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $479.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $708.50 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.68% and a net margin of 24.26%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 32.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.44 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a $0.3071 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This is a boost from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.23 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is 66.13%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.21, for a total transaction of $207,073.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 57,756 shares in the company, valued at $2,149,100.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Essential Utilities from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Company Profile

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.