TD Asset Management Inc Trims Stock Position in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

TD Asset Management Inc lowered its position in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 12.8% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 153,844 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,674 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $6,081,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in Essential Utilities during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. American National Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Essential Utilities during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. CX Institutional bought a new stake in Essential Utilities during the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 3.9%

Shares of WTRG opened at $38.22 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $10.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.40, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.65. Essential Utilities Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.18 and a fifty-two week high of $41.78. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $37.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.90.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $514.91 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $462.70 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 10.28%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.28 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.3426 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $1.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. This is an increase from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.50.

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.