AQR Capital Management LLC Sells 58,298 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

AQR Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 19.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 246,582 shares of the company's stock after selling 58,298 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.09% of Essential Utilities worth $8,956,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WTRG. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 75.0% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,104 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 98.9% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,565 shares of the company's stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 778 shares during the period. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at $60,000. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Essential Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $41.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, April 20th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Essential Utilities stock traded down $0.92 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $39.84. 395,378 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,448,774. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.18 and a 52 week high of $41.89. 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 firm has a market cap of $10.98 billion, a PE ratio of 19.92, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.85. The company's fifty day moving average is $39.60 and its 200-day moving average is $38.01.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.23. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.97 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors 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 yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities's payout ratio is presently 59.91%.

Essential Utilities 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.