Prudential PLC lessened its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 21.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 87,640 shares of the company's stock after selling 23,836 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC's holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $3,183,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Essential Utilities by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,317,312 shares of the company's stock worth $156,526,000 after buying an additional 11,336 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,046,443 shares of the company's stock worth $38,007,000 after buying an additional 49,044 shares in the last quarter. Rodgers Brothers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 34.6% in the 4th quarter. Rodgers Brothers Inc. now owns 71,913 shares of the company's stock worth $2,612,000 after acquiring an additional 18,475 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 121.4% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 109,618 shares of the company's stock worth $3,970,000 after purchasing an additional 60,107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allstate Corp purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter worth approximately $300,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group decreased 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. StockNews.com raised Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of 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, 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 note on Tuesday, January 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.50.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Essential Utilities
Essential Utilities Stock Performance
WTRG stock traded up $0.92 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $39.27. 1,681,862 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,486,615. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $37.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.83. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a one year low of $33.18 and a one year high of $41.78.
Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $604.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $698.77 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. Equities research analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.
Essential Utilities Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be given a $0.3255 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.91%.
Essential Utilities Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
Featured Articles
Before you consider Essential Utilities, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Essential Utilities wasn't on the list.
While Essential Utilities currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Like this article? Share it with a colleague.
Link copied to clipboard.
