Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Cuts Stock Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lowered its stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 14.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 165,942 shares of the company's stock after selling 28,197 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned about 0.06% of Essential Utilities worth $6,027,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WTRG. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,811,851 shares of the company's stock worth $247,134,000 after buying an additional 972,803 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the third quarter worth approximately $30,842,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 51.3% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 42.6% in the 4th quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 2,043,011 shares of the company's stock valued at $74,202,000 after purchasing an additional 609,915 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 33.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 953,984 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,795,000 after purchasing an additional 237,096 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company's stock.

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Essential Utilities Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of WTRG stock traded down $0.16 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $39.70. 1,207,723 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,366,172. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.18 and a 52-week high of $41.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.79. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $36.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.83. 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $604.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $698.77 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.3255 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio is currently 59.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTRG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.