Phoenix Financial Ltd. Has $1.89 Million Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Phoenix Financial Ltd. decreased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 10.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 51,922 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,952 shares during the quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $1,886,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WTRG. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 98.9% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 778 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,383,000. Texas Yale Capital Corp. lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 76,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,795,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 353.9% during the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 219,910 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,713,000 after purchasing an additional 171,459 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenland Capital Management LP grew its position in Essential Utilities by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Greenland Capital Management LP now owns 228,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,314,000 after purchasing an additional 31,074 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of WTRG opened at $38.34 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.56 billion, a PE ratio of 19.17, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The company’s 50-day moving average is $37.84 and its 200-day moving average is $37.82. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.18 and a fifty-two week high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $604.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $698.77 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. Equities analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on WTRG. StockNews.com raised shares of Essential Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus 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.