California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 8,877 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 429,706 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,877 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $16,050,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 604.0% during the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 711 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 610 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 78.9% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 4,210.0% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 862 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 842 shares during the period. Resources Management Corp CT ADV raised its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 250.0% in the 3rd quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 1,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $36.46 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.82. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $35.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $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.

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 business had revenue of $479.40 million for 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 32.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.44 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.3071 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essential Utilities news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.21, for a total transaction of $207,073.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 57,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,149,100.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.