AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Cuts Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc decreased its position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,048,821 shares of the company's stock after selling 172,958 shares during the quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc owned approximately 0.38% of Essential Utilities worth $40,432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WTRG. Norden Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 1st quarter valued at $209,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 24.8% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 19,334 shares of the company's stock worth $782,000 after acquiring an additional 3,843 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 13.9% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 7,297 shares of the company's stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 889 shares in the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden raised its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 22.1% in the 1st quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 62,400 shares of the company's stock worth $2,312,000 after acquiring an additional 11,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smithfield Trust Co raised its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 17,769 shares of the company's stock worth $659,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on WTRG. Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Essential Utilities from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $44.00.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WTRG traded up $0.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $39.67. The company had a trading volume of 1,923,247 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,537,713. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market cap of $10.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.84, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.84. The company's 50-day moving average price is $39.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.70. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a one year low of $33.28 and a one year high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 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 $435.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $416.95 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.30 EPS. Essential Utilities's revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.28%. Essential Utilities's payout ratio is 65.00%.

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.