Keybank National Association OH Reduces Stock Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Keybank National Association OH lessened its stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,715 shares of the company’s stock after selling 440 shares during the quarter. Keybank National Association OH’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $534,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,811,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,134,000 after buying an additional 972,803 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the third quarter worth approximately $30,842,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 51.3% in the fourth 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 last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 33.1% in the third 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 last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,071,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,250,000 after buying an additional 199,936 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on WTRG. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group lowered their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 3.5 %

Essential Utilities stock opened at $39.81 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $10.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.91, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.79. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.18 and a 1 year high of $41.78. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $35.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.80.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $698.77 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be given a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.27%. 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.