Franklin Resources Inc. Increases Stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,046,443 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 49,044 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.38% of Essential Utilities worth $38,007,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 75.0% in the fourth 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. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $90,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTRG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. 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 report on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com raised Essential Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of Essential Utilities stock opened at $39.62 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $10.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.80. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.83.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. The company had revenue of $604.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $698.77 million. Analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.91%.

Essential Utilities 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.