SG Americas Securities LLC lessened its stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 86.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,856 shares of the company's stock after selling 125,803 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $742,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 15.7% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 11,774 shares of the company's stock worth $602,000 after purchasing an additional 1,602 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 80.7% during the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 37,787 shares of the company's stock worth $1,932,000 after purchasing an additional 16,871 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 12.1% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,186,342 shares of the company's stock worth $60,662,000 after purchasing an additional 127,695 shares during the last quarter. Aviva PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 1st quarter worth about $5,907,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 3,972.9% during the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 524,708 shares of the company's stock worth $26,828,000 after purchasing an additional 511,825 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company's stock.
Essential Utilities Trading Down 0.8 %
NYSE WTRG traded down $0.30 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $36.03. The stock had a trading volume of 986,447 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,819,473. The company has a market capitalization of $9.85 billion, a PE ratio of 19.53, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $35.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.66. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.07 and a twelve month high of $45.29.
Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $479.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $708.50 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.68% and a net margin of 24.26%. Essential Utilities's revenue was down 32.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.44 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.
Essential Utilities Increases Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a $0.3071 dividend. This represents a $1.23 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This is a boost from Essential Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.13%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Separately, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Essential Utilities from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.00.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Essential Utilities
Insider Activity
In other news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of Essential Utilities stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.21, for a total value of $207,073.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 57,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,149,100.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.
About Essential Utilities
(
Free Report)
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.
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