Retirement Systems of Alabama Has $13.40 Million Stock Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 358,856 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,913 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned approximately 0.13% of Essential Utilities worth $13,403,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,168,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $932,698,000 after acquiring an additional 99,560 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 0.7% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,386,733 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,267,000 after purchasing an additional 24,991 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 6.1% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,918,202 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,182,000 after purchasing an additional 166,891 shares during the period. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 3.6% during the third quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,966,687 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,516,000 after purchasing an additional 67,465 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 4.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,768,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,715,000 after purchasing an additional 74,800 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:WTRG opened at $37.21 on Thursday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.07 and a 12-month high of $43.74. The stock has a market cap of $10.18 billion, a PE ratio of 20.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a 50 day moving average of $35.77 and a 200-day moving average of $35.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.68% and a net margin of 24.26%. The company had revenue of $479.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $708.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.44 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 32.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.3071 per share. This represents a $1.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This is a boost from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 66.13%.

Insider Transactions at Essential Utilities

In other news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.21, for a total transaction of $207,073.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 57,756 shares in the company, valued at $2,149,100.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Essential Utilities from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.00.

About Essential Utilities

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.