Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Position Lessened by Trillium Asset Management LLC

Trillium Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 64,679 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,231 shares during the quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $2,349,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 16.7% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,842,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 51.3% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,935,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,309,000 after purchasing an additional 656,136 shares during the period. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 42.6% during the fourth quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 2,043,011 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,202,000 after buying an additional 609,915 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 33.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 953,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,795,000 after buying an additional 237,096 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $39.14 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $36.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.84. The company has a market capitalization of $10.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.57, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.79. 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 twelve month low of $33.18 and a twelve month high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $604.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 expect 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, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on WTRG. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI boosted 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Company 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.