Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Sells 120,768 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. trimmed its position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,410,529 shares of the company’s stock after selling 120,768 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. owned about 0.88% of Essential Utilities worth $87,550,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WTRG. Commerce Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 6,865 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,000 after acquiring an additional 805 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Essential Utilities by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,871,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,200,000 after purchasing an additional 149,162 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 17.3% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 36,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,396,000 after buying an additional 5,347 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 4.8% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 23,923 shares of the company’s stock valued at $923,000 after purchasing an additional 1,102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities during the third quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on WTRG. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report 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 on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $38.62 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $36.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.82. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a one year low of $33.18 and a one year high of $41.78. The company has a market capitalization of $10.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.39.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. The firm had revenue of $604.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $698.77 million. Analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is 59.91%.

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.