Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Buys 1,597,672 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 31.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,726,215 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,597,672 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $244,296,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Commerce Bank increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 13.3% in the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 6,865 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 805 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,871,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,200,000 after buying an additional 149,162 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 17.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 36,201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,396,000 after buying an additional 5,347 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 23,923 shares of the company’s stock worth $923,000 after buying an additional 1,102 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Essential Utilities during the third quarter worth about $212,000. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:WTRG opened at $38.62 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.82. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.18 and a 52-week high of $41.78. The company has a market cap of $10.62 billion, a PE ratio of 19.31, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.55.

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

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 59.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WTRG shares. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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 target on shares of Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.50.

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.