SRS Capital Advisors Inc. Sells 466 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

SRS Capital Advisors Inc. cut its stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 28.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,160 shares of the company’s stock after selling 466 shares during the quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $42,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WTRG. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter worth $30,842,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 51.3% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,935,818 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,309,000 after buying an additional 656,136 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 33.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 953,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,795,000 after buying an additional 237,096 shares during the period. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter worth about $7,301,000. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of WTRG stock opened at $39.81 on Friday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a one year low of $33.18 and a one year high of $41.78. The company’s 50-day moving average is $35.85 and its 200 day moving average is $37.83. The company has a market capitalization of $10.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.79. 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 (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The company had revenue of $604.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $698.77 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is presently 59.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price 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. One 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 presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.50.

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.