Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 737 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 7.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,145 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 737 shares during the quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $430,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,947 shares of the company’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the period. Tompkins Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 21.7% in the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 1,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 3,477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,000 after buying an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 6,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 8,024 shares of the company’s stock valued at $309,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 0.9 %

WTRG opened at $38.60 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.57 and a 52 week high of $41.78. The stock has a market cap of $10.60 billion, a PE ratio of 19.30, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a 50 day moving average of $39.03 and a 200-day moving average of $38.80.

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

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is 65.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WTRG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Robert W. Baird raised 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, November 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.00.

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.