PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Sells 2,141 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 181,905 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,141 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Essential Utilities worth $6,607,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Essential Utilities during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Essential Utilities during the third quarter valued at $28,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in Essential Utilities by 61.4% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in Essential Utilities by 75.0% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in Essential Utilities during the third quarter valued at $42,000. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on WTRG. UBS Group cut 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 report on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Essential Utilities presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 2.8 %

NYSE:WTRG opened at $38.54 on Thursday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.18 and a 1-year high of $41.78. The company has a 50-day moving average of $36.05 and a 200 day moving average of $37.82. The firm has a market cap of $10.59 billion, a PE ratio of 19.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.39.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.91%.

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.