Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC Sells 1,784 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC decreased its position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 7.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,388 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,784 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $849,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 175,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,374,000 after purchasing an additional 4,800 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Essential Utilities by 219.4% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 122,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,452,000 after buying an additional 84,208 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 28.7% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 60,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,338,000 after acquiring an additional 13,518 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at $288,000. Finally, Capital Market Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 166.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital Market Strategies LLC now owns 14,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $512,000 after acquiring an additional 8,800 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on WTRG shares. Robert W. Baird upped their target price 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. 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Essential Utilities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $43.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WTRG opened at $35.07 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The company has a market capitalization of $9.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.86. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.18 and a 1-year high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $435.30 million for 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 for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.30 EPS. Research analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.