Pacer Advisors Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Pacer Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 18.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 36,835 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,223 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $1,338,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WTRG. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 4,309.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,255,483 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,424,000 after purchasing an additional 1,227,010 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its position in Essential Utilities by 117.3% during the third quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,962,692 shares of the company's stock worth $75,701,000 after buying an additional 1,059,320 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position 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 worth $247,134,000 after buying an additional 972,803 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,842,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 33.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 953,984 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,795,000 after acquiring an additional 237,096 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTRG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $41.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird increased 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 downgraded shares of Essential Utilities from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $43.00 to $39.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. 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 research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of WTRG stock traded up $0.02 on Thursday, hitting $35.34. 816,695 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,493,483. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.87. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $36.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.33. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a one year low of $33.18 and a one year high of $41.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.55.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. The firm had revenue of $435.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $416.95 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $0.3255 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.00%.

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.