Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Shares Purchased by Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co

Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co raised its stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 32.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,411 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,530 shares during the period. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $959,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 19,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $709,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 75.0% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the period. RWC Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at $2,119,000. Wealthspire Advisors LLC raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 15,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $581,000 after purchasing an additional 645 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 51.3% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,935,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,309,000 after purchasing an additional 656,136 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on WTRG shares. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Essential Utilities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $43.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report 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 target for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Essential Utilities currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 2.8 %

WTRG stock opened at $38.05 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.39. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.18 and a 52-week high of $41.78. The company has a 50-day moving average of $35.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.87.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.00%.

About Essential Utilities

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.