JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered its position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 39.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 582,189 shares of the company's stock after selling 371,795 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.21% of Essential Utilities worth $21,145,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 75.0% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,104 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 473 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter worth about $60,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at about $90,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,946 shares of the company's stock valued at $180,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Essential Utilities Price Performance
Shares of NYSE WTRG traded up $0.15 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $40.31. 616,912 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,700,278. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.18 and a 1 year high of $41.78. The company has a market cap of $11.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.16, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.80. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $38.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.84.
Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 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 $604.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $698.77 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities's payout ratio is currently 59.91%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. 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 research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Essential Utilities currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.50.
View Our Latest Stock Report on WTRG
Essential Utilities Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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