Barclays PLC Sells 30,930 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Barclays PLC lowered its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 8.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 352,021 shares of the company’s stock after selling 30,930 shares during the period. Barclays PLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $13,578,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WTRG. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 61.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in Essential Utilities during the third quarter worth $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Robert W. Baird upped 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, November 6th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.00.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of Essential Utilities stock opened at $38.69 on Monday. 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 $10.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.85. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $33.57 and a twelve month high of $41.78. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.96.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $435.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $416.95 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.30 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2.01 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.00%.

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.