Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Shares Sold by State of Tennessee Department of Treasury

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury cut its stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 26.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 94,832 shares of the company's stock after selling 34,123 shares during the quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury's holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $3,444,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 75.0% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,104 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Essential Utilities by 98.9% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,565 shares of the company's stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter worth $60,000. 74.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Essential Utilities Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Essential Utilities stock traded up $0.30 on Wednesday, reaching $41.07. The stock had a trading volume of 2,348,139 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,465,642. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.18 and a 1 year high of $41.78. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $39.11 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.80.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $604.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $698.77 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. Essential Utilities's payout ratio is 59.91%.

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.