Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System decreased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,047,706 shares of the company’s stock after selling 27,627 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.38% of Essential Utilities worth $38,053,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 24,652 shares of the company’s stock valued at $895,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 6,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 70,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,546,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 19,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $709,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $180,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on WTRG shares. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of WTRG stock opened at $39.41 on Thursday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.18 and a fifty-two week high of $41.78. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $37.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.82. 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 firm has a market cap of $10.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.71, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.79.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $604.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $698.77 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. Analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is 59.91%.

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.