Apella Capital LLC Sells 1,000 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Apella Capital LLC trimmed its position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 11.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,580 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the quarter. Apella Capital LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $275,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Essential Utilities by 61.4% during the 3rd 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. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WTRG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $44.00 to $41.00 in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Essential Utilities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $43.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group cut their target price on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:WTRG opened at $34.49 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.75. 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 current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.47 billion, a PE ratio of 17.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.86.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $435.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $416.95 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.78%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.