Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank cut its stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 734,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 34,400 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.27% of Essential Utilities worth $26,677,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WTRG. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,811,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,134,000 after buying an additional 972,803 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Essential Utilities in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,842,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 51.3% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,935,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,309,000 after purchasing an additional 656,136 shares in the last quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 42.6% in the fourth quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 2,043,011 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,202,000 after purchasing an additional 609,915 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 33.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 953,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,795,000 after purchasing an additional 237,096 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

WTRG stock opened at $39.84 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.92, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.79. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $33.18 and a twelve month high of $41.78. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $604.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $698.77 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WTRG. Jefferies Financial Group raised Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.50.

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.