FIL Ltd Sells 72,010 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

FIL Ltd lowered its stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,888,737 shares of the company's stock after selling 72,010 shares during the quarter. FIL Ltd owned approximately 0.69% of Essential Utilities worth $68,599,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTRG. Synergy Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 92.8% during the fourth quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 148,009 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,529,000 after purchasing an additional 71,222 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,811,851 shares of the company's stock valued at $247,134,000 after acquiring an additional 972,803 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at $638,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 33.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 953,984 shares of the company's stock worth $36,795,000 after buying an additional 237,096 shares during the period. Finally, RWC Asset Management LLP bought a new position in Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,119,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company's stock.

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Essential Utilities Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE WTRG traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $40.31. 395,674 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,697,376. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $33.18 and a twelve month high of $41.78. 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 $11.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.16, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.84.

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

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.23%. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTRG has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Essential Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Essential Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $41.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Company 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.