Securian Asset Management Inc. Sells 479 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Securian Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,099 shares of the company’s stock after selling 479 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $694,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 32,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,183,000 after purchasing an additional 5,152 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 101,573 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,689,000 after purchasing an additional 3,859 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 25,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $914,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter worth about $234,000. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter worth about $388,000. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WTRG. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of 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. UBS Group reduced their price target 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. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Essential Utilities stock opened at $39.54 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.18 and a 1 year high of $41.78. The company has a market cap of $10.87 billion, a PE ratio of 19.77, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s 50-day moving average is $36.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.82.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its 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. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The company had revenue of $604.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $698.77 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be given a $0.3255 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is 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.