Lindenwold Advisors INC Reduces Stock Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Lindenwold Advisors INC decreased its holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,625 shares of the company’s stock after selling 305 shares during the quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $277,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTRG. Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in shares of 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 Essential Utilities by 92.8% in the 4th quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 148,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,529,000 after buying an additional 71,222 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased 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 buying an additional 972,803 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter worth about $638,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in 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 worth $72,200,000 after buying an additional 149,162 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on WTRG shares. UBS Group dropped their target price on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. 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 research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE WTRG opened at $39.70 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $10.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.85, a P/E/G 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. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $36.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.83. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.18 and a fifty-two week high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $604.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $698.77 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is 59.91%.

Essential Utilities Company 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.