Coston McIsaac & Partners Sells 7,866 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Coston McIsaac & Partners cut its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 7.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 99,828 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,866 shares during the period. Coston McIsaac & Partners' holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $3,624,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 4.4% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 95,426 shares of the company's stock worth $3,562,000 after purchasing an additional 3,987 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 44.1% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 34,080 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,272,000 after acquiring an additional 10,437 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in Essential Utilities in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,016,000. MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new stake in Essential Utilities in the second quarter worth about $708,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 134.8% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 7,560 shares of the company's stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 4,340 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTRG has been the topic of several research reports. Robert W. Baird boosted 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, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Essential Utilities from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $43.00 to $39.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group reduced their target price 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. 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 research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of WTRG stock traded up $0.42 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $35.90. The stock had a trading volume of 843,838 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,508,749. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $36.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.86 billion, a PE ratio of 17.96, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.87. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $33.18 and a 12 month high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The firm had revenue of $435.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $416.95 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.30 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.63%. Essential Utilities's payout ratio is presently 65.00%.

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.