Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Cresset Asset Management LLC

Cresset Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 44.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,320 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,966 shares during the quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $266,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,061,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,091,820,000 after purchasing an additional 2,245,256 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in Essential Utilities by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 6,726,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $244,296,000 after buying an additional 1,597,672 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,317,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,526,000 after acquiring an additional 11,336 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Essential Utilities by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,690,116 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,025,000 after acquiring an additional 236,250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Essential Utilities by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,331,090 shares of the company’s stock worth $120,985,000 after acquiring an additional 601,026 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of NYSE:WTRG opened at $38.88 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.99. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.18 and a 52 week high of $41.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $10.71 billion, a PE ratio of 19.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.85.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.23. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. The company had revenue of $783.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $713.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Essential Utilities from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Essential Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.50.

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.