Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Shares Sold by Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. trimmed its position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 61.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,980 shares of the company’s stock after selling 37,263 shares during the quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $835,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WTRG. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,811,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,134,000 after acquiring an additional 972,803 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter worth $30,842,000. 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 worth $70,309,000 after acquiring an additional 656,136 shares in the last quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 42.6% during the 4th quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 2,043,011 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,202,000 after acquiring an additional 609,915 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 33.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 953,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,795,000 after acquiring an additional 237,096 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE:WTRG opened at $38.39 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.84. 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 firm has a market cap of $10.55 billion, a PE ratio of 19.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.79. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.18 and a 1-year high of $41.78.

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

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on WTRG shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently 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.