Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Holdings Lowered by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 429,706 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,877 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.16% of Essential Utilities worth $16,050,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 14.2% in the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 235,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,096,000 after purchasing an additional 29,372 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its position in Essential Utilities by 94.0% during the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 81,799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,808,000 after buying an additional 39,643 shares during the period. Mariner LLC lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 34,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,180,000 after acquiring an additional 3,104 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter worth about $3,583,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Essential Utilities by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,168,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $932,698,000 after acquiring an additional 99,560 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.21, for a total value of $207,073.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 57,756 shares in the company, valued at $2,149,100.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WTRG opened at $36.46 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.07 and a 1 year high of $43.74. The firm has a market cap of $9.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.82.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $479.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $708.50 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.68% and a net margin of 24.26%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 32.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.44 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a $0.3071 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This is a boost from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is 66.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.00.

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.