Private Advisor Group LLC Has $3.11 Million Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Private Advisor Group LLC decreased its position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 17.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 85,596 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,515 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $3,109,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.8% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 14,243 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its holdings in Essential Utilities by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 6,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Essential Utilities by 61.4% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the period. Tompkins Financial Corp raised its position in Essential Utilities by 21.7% during the 3rd quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 1,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 70,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,546,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WTRG. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Essential Utilities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $43.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of WTRG stock opened at $37.04 on Tuesday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.18 and a fifty-two week high of $41.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.55. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.87. The company has a market cap of $10.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.52, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.86.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a $0.3255 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.51%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.00%.

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.