Radnor Capital Management LLC Has $2.16 Million Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Radnor Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 11.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 59,352 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,801 shares during the quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $2,156,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTRG. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 4,309.4% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,255,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,424,000 after purchasing an additional 1,227,010 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 117.3% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,962,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,701,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059,320 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,811,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,134,000 after purchasing an additional 972,803 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,842,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 33.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 953,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,795,000 after buying an additional 237,096 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on WTRG. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $44.00 to $41.00 in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Essential Utilities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $43.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of Essential Utilities stock opened at $34.18 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.39 billion, a PE ratio of 17.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.86. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.18 and a 52 week high of $41.78. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $37.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.55.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. The business 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%. Essential Utilities’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.30 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.81%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is presently 65.00%.

Essential Utilities 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.