Amalgamated Bank Sells 21,545 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Amalgamated Bank reduced its holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 120,041 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,545 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $4,630,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of WTRG. Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the first quarter worth $209,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 24.8% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 19,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $782,000 after acquiring an additional 3,843 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 2.8% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 140,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,216,000 after purchasing an additional 3,779 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 126.8% in the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 18,341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $680,000 after buying an additional 10,254 shares during the period. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 220,054 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,153,000 after purchasing an additional 3,046 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on WTRG. Evercore ISI upped their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $44.00 to $41.00 in a report on Thursday. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Friday, September 20th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.00.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 3.1 %

WTRG stock opened at $39.12 on Friday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a one year low of $33.28 and a one year high of $41.78. The stock has a market cap of $10.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $39.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $435.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $416.95 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.94% and a net margin of 27.84%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.30 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.00%.

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.