Intech Investment Management LLC Sells 22,741 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Intech Investment Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 49.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 23,201 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,741 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $895,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTRG. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 61.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the period. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Essential Utilities by 81.2% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WTRG. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $44.00 to $41.00 in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.00.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of WTRG stock opened at $40.28 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.84. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.57 and a 12-month high of $41.78. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $39.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.88.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $435.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $416.95 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.30 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is 65.00%.

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.