Aigen Investment Management LP Cuts Stock Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Aigen Investment Management LP reduced its position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 77.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,781 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,254 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $246,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WTRG. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 81.2% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in Essential Utilities by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 139,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,395,000 after buying an additional 6,823 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Essential Utilities by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 72,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,909,000 after buying an additional 4,573 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $540,000 after acquiring an additional 1,999 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter valued at about $187,000. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 3.5 %

Shares of Essential Utilities stock opened at $39.81 on Monday. 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 $10.95 billion, a PE ratio of 19.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.79. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.18 and a 1-year high of $41.78. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.80.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. The business had revenue of $604.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $698.77 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is 59.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on WTRG shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.50.

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.