CenterBook Partners LP Has $691,000 Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

CenterBook Partners LP reduced its position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 61.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,029 shares of the company's stock after selling 29,857 shares during the period. CenterBook Partners LP's holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $691,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 75.0% in the 4th 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 period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter worth approximately $60,000. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $90,000. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group dropped their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report 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 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com cut shares of Essential Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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 report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.50.

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Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of Essential Utilities stock traded down $0.25 on Tuesday, reaching $39.91. 1,479,356 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,485,794. The firm's 50 day moving average is $38.02 and its 200-day moving average is $37.84. The firm has a market cap of $11.00 billion, a PE ratio of 19.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.55. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a one year low of $33.18 and a one year high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. The firm had revenue of $604.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $698.77 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a $0.3255 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. Essential Utilities's payout ratio is currently 59.91%.

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.