Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 24.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 767,455 shares of the company's stock after selling 250,398 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.28% of Essential Utilities worth $29,601,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,305,976 shares of the company's stock valued at $165,701,000 after buying an additional 82,456 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 0.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,754,099 shares of the company's stock worth $102,811,000 after purchasing an additional 9,822 shares during the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 4.2% during the third quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 2,531,297 shares of the company's stock worth $97,632,000 after purchasing an additional 100,990 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,154,215 shares of the company's stock valued at $83,088,000 after purchasing an additional 145,767 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,034,497 shares of the company's stock worth $78,471,000 after purchasing an additional 10,560 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WTRG. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Essential Utilities from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $44.00.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of WTRG stock traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $36.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 456,812 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,521,820. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $39.04 and a 200 day moving average of $38.93. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.57 and a 12-month high of $41.78. The stock has a market cap of $10.00 billion, a PE ratio of 18.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.85.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $435.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.95 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The firm's revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.30 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.