Radnor Capital Management LLC Sells 7,801 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Radnor Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 11.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 59,352 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,801 shares during the period. Radnor Capital Management LLC's holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $2,156,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.6% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 51,881 shares of the company's stock worth $2,001,000 after acquiring an additional 803 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in Essential Utilities by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 881,658 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,912,000 after purchasing an additional 21,804 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 18.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,500,150 shares of the company's stock worth $56,002,000 after purchasing an additional 234,857 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,585,475 shares of the company's stock worth $61,152,000 after purchasing an additional 84,596 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,811,851 shares of the company's stock worth $247,134,000 after purchasing an additional 972,803 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WTRG. Bank of America reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Essential Utilities from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Essential Utilities from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $43.00 to $39.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of WTRG stock traded up $0.38 on Wednesday, reaching $34.49. 1,326,233 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,454,459. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $37.85 and a 200-day moving average of $38.75. The company has a market cap of $9.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.25, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.86. 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 quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $435.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.95 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.30 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.78%. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.00%.

About Essential Utilities

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.