Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC Sells 1,031 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 40.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,031 shares during the period. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $54,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in Essential Utilities in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Essential Utilities by 61.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in Essential Utilities in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WTRG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of 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. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 0.3 %

WTRG stock opened at $33.49 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $9.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.86. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.18 and a fifty-two week high of $41.78. The business has a 50-day moving average of $37.09 and a 200-day moving average of $38.58.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $435.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $416.95 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.30 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

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