Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Has $14.41 Million Stock Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lowered its position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 16.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 396,797 shares of the company's stock after selling 79,138 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado owned about 0.14% of Essential Utilities worth $14,412,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter worth about $2,405,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 59,608 shares of the company's stock worth $2,165,000 after acquiring an additional 1,982 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 80.8% in the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 59,528 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,162,000 after acquiring an additional 26,611 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 6,594 shares of the company's stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 696 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 173,164 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,290,000 after acquiring an additional 15,131 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WTRG remained flat at $40.71 during mid-day trading on Friday. 804,045 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,460,486. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $39.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.02. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.18 and a fifty-two week high of $41.78. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $11.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.36, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.80.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $604.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $698.77 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.91%.

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.