AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Trims Stock Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc decreased its position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 984,643 shares of the company’s stock after selling 64,178 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $35,762,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at about $638,000. Secure Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 45,332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,646,000 after acquiring an additional 4,920 shares during the period. Red Door Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at about $491,000. Cetera Trust Company N.A lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 41.7% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A now owns 6,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 1,860 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 50,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,821,000 after purchasing an additional 1,490 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 0.3 %

WTRG opened at $33.49 on Friday. 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 52 week low of $33.18 and a 52 week high of $41.78. The business’s 50 day moving average is $37.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.58. The firm has a market cap of $9.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.86.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 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 $435.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $416.95 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.30 EPS. Essential Utilities’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on WTRG shares. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Essential Utilities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $43.00 to $39.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.00.

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.