XTX Topco Ltd Sells 18,434 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

XTX Topco Ltd cut its stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 55.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,813 shares of the company's stock after selling 18,434 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd's holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $538,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mariner LLC lifted its position in Essential Utilities by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 62,117 shares of the company's stock worth $2,256,000 after buying an additional 14,780 shares in the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at about $52,355,000. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 25.8% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 442,767 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,080,000 after purchasing an additional 90,746 shares in the last quarter. Seeds Investor LLC raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Seeds Investor LLC now owns 8,012 shares of the company's stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 641 shares during the period. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 11,028 shares of the company's stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 617 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on WTRG shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, April 20th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Essential Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $41.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of WTRG stock traded down $0.43 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $39.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 298,110 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,457,437. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $38.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.96. The company has a market capitalization of $11.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.98, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.80. 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 fifty-two week low of $33.18 and a fifty-two week high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The firm had revenue of $604.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $698.77 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.