Bank of Nova Scotia Sells 3,450 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Bank of Nova Scotia lessened its holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 27.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,141 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,450 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $332,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,061,135 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,091,820,000 after purchasing an additional 2,245,256 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position 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 valued at $247,134,000 after buying an additional 972,803 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in Essential Utilities by 31.2% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 6,726,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $244,296,000 after buying an additional 1,597,672 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,317,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,526,000 after acquiring an additional 11,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,690,116 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,025,000 after acquiring an additional 236,250 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on WTRG. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com cut shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. UBS Group reduced their target price on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a 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 target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $39.91 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $11.00 billion, a PE ratio of 19.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.80. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a one year low of $33.18 and a one year high of $41.78. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $38.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.85.

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

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.