Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 4,185 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System decreased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 222,769 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,185 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System owned approximately 0.08% of Essential Utilities worth $8,091,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Essential Utilities by 61.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 75.0% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 473 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Essential Utilities Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE WTRG opened at $39.70 on Wednesday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.18 and a 52 week high of $41.78. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $36.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market cap of $10.91 billion, a PE ratio of 19.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.79.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.01. The business 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.91%.

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.