Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 250,398 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 24.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 767,455 shares of the company’s stock after selling 250,398 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.28% of Essential Utilities worth $29,601,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WTRG. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 24.7% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 152,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,636,000 after buying an additional 30,152 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Essential Utilities by 12.1% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 139,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,171,000 after purchasing an additional 15,009 shares during the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. bought a new position in Essential Utilities during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $46,280,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 350.3% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 903,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,723,000 after buying an additional 702,760 shares during the period. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 231.2% in the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 306,588 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,359,000 after buying an additional 214,031 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of WTRG opened at $39.05 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $10.72 billion, a PE ratio of 19.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.55. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.28 and a fifty-two week high of $41.78. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.76.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $435.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $416.95 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The business’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.30 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is 65.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on WTRG shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.00.

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.