American Century Companies Inc. Cuts Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

American Century Companies Inc. lessened its stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 84.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,850 shares of the company’s stock after selling 63,023 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $442,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Essential Utilities by 4.5% during the second quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,947 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. lifted its position in Essential Utilities by 5.4% during the first quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 6,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 5.5% during the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 6,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in Essential Utilities by 8.7% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,000 after buying an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Affirmative Financial Network lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 5.1% during the first quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 7,910 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE:WTRG opened at $38.68 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $39.26 and its 200 day moving average is $38.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.59 billion, a PE ratio of 18.33, a PEG ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.58. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.07 and a fifty-two week high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $434.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $442.76 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 28.74% and a return on equity of 8.16%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.34 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WTRG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.00.

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.