Bank of Montreal Can Has $5.49 Million Stock Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Bank of Montreal Can reduced its stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 75.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 151,246 shares of the company's stock after selling 453,908 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can owned 0.06% of Essential Utilities worth $5,493,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Synergy Asset Management LLC grew its position in Essential Utilities by 92.8% during the fourth 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 raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,811,851 shares of the company's stock valued at $247,134,000 after purchasing an additional 972,803 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter worth $638,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Essential Utilities by 33.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 953,984 shares of the company's stock worth $36,795,000 after buying an additional 237,096 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RWC Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at $2,119,000. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of WTRG stock traded up $0.45 on Friday, hitting $40.50. The stock had a trading volume of 962,788 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,482,841. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $38.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market cap of $11.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.25, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.80. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $33.18 and a twelve month high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. The business had revenue of $604.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $698.77 million. As a group, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio is 59.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Essential Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. 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 research report on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Essential Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $41.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.50.

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.