Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 6,943 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG – Get Rating) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 90,418 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,943 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $4,315,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. EWG Elevate Inc. acquired a new position in Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Essential Utilities during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Romano Brothers AND Company acquired a new position in Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 47.0% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.96% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $42.53 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $42.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.38. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.50 and a 1 year high of $52.42. The company has a market capitalization of $11.24 billion, a PE ratio of 24.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.64.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 8th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $726.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $682.87 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 19.75% and a return on equity of 8.54%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.76 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.287 per share. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 11th. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is 65.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTRG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $54.00 price objective on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Monday, February 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essential Utilities

In related news, CEO Chris Franklin acquired 37,245 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $40.70 per share, with a total value of $1,515,871.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 37,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,515,871.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Company Profile

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Essential Utilities, Inc is a holding company, which engages in providing water, wastewater and natural gas services through its subsidiaries. It operates through the Regulated Water and Regulated Natural Gas segments. The Regulated Water segment includes water and wastewater regulated utility companies.