Ameriprise Financial Inc. Has $13.09 Million Stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. decreased its holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 16.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 360,398 shares of the company's stock after selling 70,437 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 0.13% of Essential Utilities worth $13,090,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTRG. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,331,090 shares of the company's stock worth $120,985,000 after buying an additional 601,026 shares during the period. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter worth about $2,405,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 59,608 shares of the company's stock worth $2,165,000 after buying an additional 1,982 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 80.8% during the 4th quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 59,528 shares of the company's stock worth $2,162,000 after buying an additional 26,611 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 6,594 shares of the company's stock worth $240,000 after buying an additional 696 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on WTRG shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $41.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. StockNews.com raised Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, April 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of Essential Utilities stock traded up $0.15 on Tuesday, hitting $39.30. 1,083,847 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,469,373. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $39.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.99. 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 12-month low of $33.18 and a 12-month high of $41.78. The company has a market cap of $11.02 billion, a PE ratio of 19.65, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.85.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $783.63 million for 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%. Essential Utilities's revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.97 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio is 58.30%.

About Essential Utilities

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.