Corebridge Financial Inc. Lowers Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Corebridge Financial Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 285,865 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,876 shares during the period. Corebridge Financial Inc. owned about 0.10% of Essential Utilities worth $10,383,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its position in Essential Utilities by 1.6% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 51,881 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,001,000 after acquiring an additional 803 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 92.8% during the 4th quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 148,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,529,000 after purchasing an additional 71,222 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,811,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,134,000 after purchasing an additional 972,803 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at $638,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 8.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,871,932 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,200,000 after buying an additional 149,162 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTRG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group decreased 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. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 1.8 %

WTRG stock opened at $38.58 on Thursday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.18 and a 12-month high of $41.78. The business’s 50-day moving average is $36.85 and its 200 day moving average is $37.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market cap of $10.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.29, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.79.

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

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be given a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.91%.

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.