Corient Private Wealth LLC Reduces Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Corient Private Wealth LLC lowered its position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 40,196 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,507 shares during the quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $1,460,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.6% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 51,881 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,001,000 after purchasing an additional 803 shares during the period. Synergy Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 92.8% during the 4th quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 148,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,529,000 after acquiring an additional 71,222 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,811,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,134,000 after acquiring an additional 972,803 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at $638,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,871,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,200,000 after purchasing an additional 149,162 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on WTRG shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note 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 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group lowered 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 note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE WTRG opened at $37.94 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 fifty day moving average of $36.77 and a 200-day moving average of $37.81. The company has a market capitalization of $10.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.97, a P/E/G 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $604.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $698.77 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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 given a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 59.91%.

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.