State Street Corp Trims Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

State Street Corp cut its position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 2.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,466,249 shares of the company's stock after selling 316,174 shares during the quarter. State Street Corp owned 4.54% of Essential Utilities worth $480,823,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the third quarter worth $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in Essential Utilities by 61.4% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 773 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on WTRG shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $44.00.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 0.3 %

WTRG stock traded down $0.11 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $38.83. 937,416 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,515,751. The company has a market cap of $10.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.85. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.57 and a 1-year high of $41.78. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $39.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.89.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The firm had revenue of $435.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.95 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.30 EPS. Essential Utilities's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a $0.3255 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.00%.

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.