Modera Wealth Management LLC Has $477,000 Stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Modera Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 54.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,121 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,378 shares during the quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $477,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WTRG. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in Essential Utilities by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 14,243 shares of the company's stock worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its position in Essential Utilities by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 6,342 shares of the company's stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in Essential Utilities by 61.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 773 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp raised its position in Essential Utilities by 21.7% during the 3rd quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 1,685 shares of the company's stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its position in Essential Utilities by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 70,100 shares of the company's stock worth $2,546,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on WTRG shares. UBS Group lowered their target price on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Essential Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $41.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on 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 objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 3.5 %

Essential Utilities stock traded up $1.36 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $39.81. The stock had a trading volume of 2,085,018 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,572,923. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $33.18 and a 12 month high of $41.78. The company has a market capitalization of $10.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.91, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $35.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 EPS 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 business had revenue of $604.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $698.77 million. 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be given a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities's payout ratio is 59.91%.

Essential Utilities 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.