Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC Sells 301 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC cut its holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,934 shares of the company’s stock after selling 301 shares during the period. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $760,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WTRG. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Essential Utilities in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised 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 purchasing an additional 294 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 75.0% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the period. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on WTRG shares. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Essential Utilities currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $38.46 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. The company has a market cap of $10.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $35.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.83. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.18 and a 52-week high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a $0.3255 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 59.91%.

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.