New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 1,446 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 543,404 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,446 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.20% of Essential Utilities worth $19,736,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at $504,000. Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,660,038 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,293,000 after acquiring an additional 74,563 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 6,305.9% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 187,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,291,000 after acquiring an additional 184,258 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 10,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $387,000 after acquiring an additional 1,398 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 6,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

WTRG opened at $36.58 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $35.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.90. 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 $10.04 billion, a PE ratio of 18.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.86. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.18 and a 1 year high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WTRG. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Essential Utilities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $43.00 to $39.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.00.

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.