Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Shares Sold by Corebridge Financial Inc.

Corebridge Financial Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 285,865 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,876 shares during the period. Corebridge Financial Inc.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $10,383,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 75.0% in 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 last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $60,000. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on WTRG shares. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 target price 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of Essential Utilities stock opened at $38.58 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.29, 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. The business has a 50-day moving average of $36.85 and a 200 day moving average of $37.82. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $33.18 and a 12 month high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The business had revenue of $604.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $698.77 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 3.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.