Cullen Capital Management LLC Lowers Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Cullen Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 23.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 17,277 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,189 shares during the period. Cullen Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $628,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTRG. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in Essential Utilities by 75.0% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter worth $60,000. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter worth $90,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

WTRG stock opened at $39.62 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $37.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.83. The firm has a market cap of $10.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.81, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.55. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.18 and a 1 year 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $604.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $698.77 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on WTRG. 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 research note on Tuesday, January 28th. 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. StockNews.com raised Essential Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.50.

About Essential Utilities

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.