Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $26.35 Million Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 725,481 shares of the company’s stock after selling 41,974 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $26,349,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 14,243 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 6,342 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,000 after buying an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 61.4% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 21.7% during the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 1,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 70,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,546,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Essential Utilities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $43.00 to $39.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of WTRG stock opened at $36.58 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $35.54 and a 200-day moving average of $37.90. The company has a market cap of $10.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.39. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a one year low of $33.18 and a one year high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a $0.3255 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.00%.

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.