SRS Capital Advisors Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 28.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,160 shares of the company’s stock after selling 466 shares during the quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $42,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WTRG. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,811,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,134,000 after acquiring an additional 972,803 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,842,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 51.3% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,935,818 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,309,000 after purchasing an additional 656,136 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 33.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 953,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,795,000 after purchasing an additional 237,096 shares during the period. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $7,301,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

NYSE WTRG opened at $39.81 on Friday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $33.18 and a 12 month high of $41.78. The stock has a market cap of $10.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.91, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s 50 day moving average is $35.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.83. 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 (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The business had revenue of $604.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $698.77 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WTRG. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. 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 research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.50.

About Essential Utilities

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.