Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Shares Sold by Deutsche Bank AG

Deutsche Bank AG lessened its position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 15.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 702,130 shares of the company's stock after selling 124,610 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG owned approximately 0.26% of Essential Utilities worth $25,501,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 24,652 shares of the company's stock worth $895,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 6,342 shares of the company's stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 70,100 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,546,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 19,527 shares of the company's stock worth $709,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Affirmative Financial Network lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 9,994 shares of the company's stock worth $363,000 after buying an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on WTRG. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, April 20th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Essential Utilities from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded 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, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

NYSE:WTRG traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $39.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 151,947 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,463,634. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.18 and a 52-week high of $41.78. 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 is $39.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.99. The company has a market capitalization of $11.04 billion, a PE ratio of 19.64, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.85.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $783.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $713.80 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.97 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities's payout ratio is currently 58.30%.

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.