Krilogy Financial LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Krilogy Financial LLC reduced its position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 45,969 shares of the company’s stock after selling 723 shares during the quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $1,670,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,811,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,134,000 after acquiring an additional 972,803 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 2.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,305,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,701,000 after purchasing an additional 82,456 shares during the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 4.2% during the third quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 2,531,297 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,632,000 after purchasing an additional 100,990 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 7.3% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,154,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,088,000 after purchasing an additional 145,767 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.5% in the third quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,034,497 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,471,000 after purchasing an additional 10,560 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 0.2 %

Essential Utilities stock opened at $35.07 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.55. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.18 and a fifty-two week high of $41.78. The stock has a market cap of $9.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.54, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $37.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.68.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. The business had revenue of $435.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.95 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on WTRG. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Essential Utilities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $43.00 to $39.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group cut their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $44.00 to $41.00 in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.