New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 25,995 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

New York State Teachers Retirement System reduced its stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 294,791 shares of the company's stock after selling 25,995 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.11% of Essential Utilities worth $11,370,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Essential Utilities by 17,553.7% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,425,350 shares of the company's stock valued at $126,156,000 after acquiring an additional 3,405,947 shares during the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities in the first quarter worth $46,280,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 4,309.4% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,255,483 shares of the company's stock worth $48,424,000 after purchasing an additional 1,227,010 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 117.3% in the third quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,962,692 shares of the company's stock worth $75,701,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059,320 shares during the period. Finally, Energy Income Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities in the first quarter worth $26,917,000. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Monday, October 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $44.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $44.80.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 0.9 %

WTRG stock traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $38.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,792,403 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,311,991. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $33.28 and a twelve month high of $41.78. The company's fifty day moving average price is $38.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.65, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.84.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.02). Essential Utilities had a net margin of 28.74% and a return on equity of 8.16%. The business had revenue of $434.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $442.76 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.34 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.41%.

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.