Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 24.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 767,455 shares of the company’s stock after selling 250,398 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $29,601,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WTRG. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 51,881 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,001,000 after acquiring an additional 803 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 2.5% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 881,658 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,912,000 after purchasing an additional 21,804 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 18.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,500,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,002,000 after buying an additional 234,857 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,585,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,152,000 after buying an additional 84,596 shares during the period. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 2nd quarter valued at about $708,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of WTRG stock opened at $36.40 on Wednesday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.57 and a 12-month high of $41.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.93.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. The company had revenue of $435.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $416.95 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2.01 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WTRG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $44.00 to $41.00 in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.00.

Essential Utilities Company 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.