Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 87,986 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,419 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $3,511,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $638,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 7.8% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 12,861 shares of the company’s stock worth $508,000 after acquiring an additional 928 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 1.8% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 29,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,173,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Essential Utilities by 122.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 943,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,308,000 after purchasing an additional 519,933 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 22,322 shares of the company’s stock valued at $882,000 after purchasing an additional 1,044 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WTRG. Barclays set a $38.00 price target on shares of Essential Utilities and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $45.00 target price (down from $46.00) on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $44.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded Essential Utilities from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.29.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

WTRG opened at $39.69 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $38.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.99. Essential Utilities Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.96 and a twelve month high of $42.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $11.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.47 and a beta of 0.81.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be issued a $0.3426 dividend. This represents a $1.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 12th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.85%.

About Essential Utilities

Essential Utilities, Inc, formerly known as Aqua America, is a publicly traded water and natural gas utility holding company. Through its regulated water and wastewater subsidiaries, the company provides essential water services to residential, commercial and industrial customers. In addition, Essential Utilities delivers natural gas distribution services in Pennsylvania through its Peoples Gas subsidiary, offering integrated utility solutions under a unified corporate framework.

The company traces its roots to the Philadelphia Suburban Water Company, founded in 1886 to serve growing communities outside Philadelphia.