Atom Investors LP Cuts Stock Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Atom Investors LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 230,344 shares of the company’s stock after selling 655 shares during the period. Essential Utilities comprises about 0.9% of Atom Investors LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Atom Investors LP’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $8,884,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 12.1% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 139,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,171,000 after purchasing an additional 15,009 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 350.3% during the second quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 903,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,723,000 after purchasing an additional 702,760 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 2.5% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 881,658 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,912,000 after purchasing an additional 21,804 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 18.6% during the second 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 period. Finally, M&G Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the second quarter worth about $482,000. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.00.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

WTRG stock opened at $40.03 on Monday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.57 and a 1 year high of $41.78. The company has a market cap of $10.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.02, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $39.18 and a 200 day moving average of $38.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.39.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The business had revenue of $435.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $416.95 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2.01 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is 65.00%.

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.