Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Stake Cut by GSG Advisors LLC

GSG Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,808 shares of the company’s stock after selling 820 shares during the period. GSG Advisors LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $284,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WTRG. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 16.7% in 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 2.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,305,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,701,000 after purchasing an additional 82,456 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 2,531,297 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,632,000 after purchasing an additional 100,990 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Essential Utilities by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,154,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,088,000 after purchasing an additional 145,767 shares during the period. Finally, Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Essential Utilities by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,034,497 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,471,000 after purchasing an additional 10,560 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 1.1 %

WTRG opened at $33.72 on Tuesday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.18 and a 1-year high of $41.78. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $37.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.26 billion, a PE ratio of 16.86, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $435.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $416.95 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.30 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $0.3255 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.86%. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is 65.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Essential Utilities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $43.00 to $39.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.20.

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.