Aigen Investment Management LP Lowers Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Aigen Investment Management LP lowered its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 77.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 6,781 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,254 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $246,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in Essential Utilities by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 51,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,001,000 after purchasing an additional 803 shares during the period. Synergy Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 92.8% in the fourth quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 148,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,529,000 after buying an additional 71,222 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted 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 acquiring an additional 972,803 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in Essential Utilities by 5.6% during the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,585,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,152,000 after acquiring an additional 84,596 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at $638,000. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 3.5 %

WTRG opened at $39.81 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $35.85 and a 200 day moving average of $37.80. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $33.18 and a 12 month high of $41.78. The firm has a market cap of $10.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.79.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. The firm had revenue of $604.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $698.77 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on WTRG shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group dropped their price target 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. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.50.

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.