Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 24.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 767,455 shares of the company’s stock after selling 250,398 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.28% of Essential Utilities worth $29,601,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WTRG. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Essential Utilities by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,305,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,701,000 after acquiring an additional 82,456 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 0.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,754,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,811,000 after purchasing an additional 9,822 shares during the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lifted its position in Essential Utilities by 4.2% during the third quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 2,531,297 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,632,000 after buying an additional 100,990 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Essential Utilities by 7.3% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,154,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,088,000 after buying an additional 145,767 shares during the period. Finally, Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Essential Utilities by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,034,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,471,000 after buying an additional 10,560 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of WTRG stock opened at $36.40 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a market cap of $10.00 billion, a PE ratio of 18.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.85. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $39.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.93. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.57 and a 52 week high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. The company had revenue of $435.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.95 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2.01 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WTRG. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $44.00 to $41.00 in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective 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 target price on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Friday, September 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.00.

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.