Rothschild Investment LLC Buys 317 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Rothschild Investment LLC increased its stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,527 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $709,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WTRG. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 75.0% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter worth $2,119,000. Wealthspire Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 15,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $581,000 after buying an additional 645 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in Essential Utilities by 51.3% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,935,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,309,000 after buying an additional 656,136 shares during the period. Finally, Northcape Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter worth about $489,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WTRG shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Essential Utilities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $43.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE:WTRG opened at $37.04 on Tuesday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.18 and a 1-year high of $41.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The business has a 50 day moving average of $35.51 and a 200 day moving average of $37.87. The company has a market capitalization of $10.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.52, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.87.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a $0.3255 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.00%.

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.