Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Stock Holdings Decreased by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lowered its stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 69,800 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,400 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $2,692,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WTRG. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 62.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 9,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $361,000 after buying an additional 3,624 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter valued at about $236,000. Spirit of America Management Corp NY grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 18,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $694,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 286.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 38,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,480,000 after buying an additional 28,444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 39.8% during the 3rd quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 26,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,007,000 after buying an additional 7,431 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WTRG. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $44.00 target price for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.80.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:WTRG opened at $39.18 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $39.05 and a 200-day moving average of $38.48. The firm has a market cap of $10.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.84. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.95 and a twelve month high of $41.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $434.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $442.76 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.16% and a net margin of 28.74%. The company’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.34 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.41%.

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.