AMF Tjanstepension AB Lowers Stock Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

AMF Tjanstepension AB decreased its holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 66.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 105,502 shares of the company's stock after selling 211,623 shares during the quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB's holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $3,837,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WTRG. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 14,243 shares of the company's stock worth $549,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 6,342 shares of the company's stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 61.4% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 773 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 21.7% in the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 1,685 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 70,100 shares of the company's stock worth $2,546,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company's stock.

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Essential Utilities Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of WTRG traded down $1.12 on Wednesday, hitting $38.54. 1,274,824 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,600,600. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.18 and a 1 year high of $41.78. The stock's 50 day moving average is $36.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $604.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $698.77 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio is currently 59.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on WTRG shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI upped 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, March 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Essential Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $41.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.50.

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.