Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Shares Sold by NFJ Investment Group LLC

NFJ Investment Group LLC lessened its holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 191,051 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,847 shares during the quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Essential Utilities worth $6,939,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AGP Franklin LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $440,000. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at $281,000. Mariner LLC boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 62,117 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,256,000 after acquiring an additional 14,780 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter worth $52,355,000. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 25.8% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 442,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,080,000 after purchasing an additional 90,746 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on WTRG. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com cut shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group lowered their price target 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. Finally, 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 note on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $40.06 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.03, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.18 and a 52-week high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $698.77 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities’s 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.