Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Stock Holdings Decreased by New York Life Investment Management LLC

New York Life Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 7.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 29,031 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,478 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $1,054,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WTRG. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew 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 buying an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew 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 buying an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted 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, November 6th. 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group lowered their price objective 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. Finally, 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 research report on Thursday, February 27th. One investment 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.33.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

NYSE WTRG opened at $39.11 on Tuesday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.18 and a 52 week high of $41.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market cap of $10.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $35.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.82.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. Analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities’s dividend 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.