Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Sells 2,290 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC reduced its position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 51.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,126 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,290 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $82,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WTRG. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,754,099 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,811,000 after purchasing an additional 9,822 shares in the last quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.7% in the second quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,023,937 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,554,000 after purchasing an additional 13,557 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 18.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,500,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,002,000 after purchasing an additional 234,857 shares in the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the first quarter worth about $46,280,000. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 350.3% in the second quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 903,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,723,000 after purchasing an additional 702,760 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WTRG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Monday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $44.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Friday, September 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.80.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of Essential Utilities stock opened at $38.63 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market cap of $10.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.84, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $38.98 and its 200 day moving average is $38.63. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.28 and a 1 year high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.02). Essential Utilities had a net margin of 28.74% and a return on equity of 8.16%. The company had revenue of $434.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $442.76 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.34 EPS. Essential Utilities’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.41%.

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.