JPMorgan Chase & Co. Lowers Position in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased its position in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 39.6% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 592,167 shares of the company’s stock after selling 388,366 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $21,995,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at $638,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 47,737 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,887,000 after acquiring an additional 2,965 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 295,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,674,000 after acquiring an additional 6,839 shares during the period. Commerce Bank grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 17.7% during the 1st quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 9,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $359,000 after acquiring an additional 1,364 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 9,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $392,000 after purchasing an additional 773 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

WTRG opened at $37.92 on Friday. Essential Utilities Inc. has a twelve month low of $33.18 and a twelve month high of $42.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.73 billion, a PE ratio of 15.73 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $39.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.64.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $476.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $472.40 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 28.09% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The business’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.25 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 12th were given a dividend of $0.3426 per share. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 12th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WTRG. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Baird R W lowered Essential Utilities from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $45.00 price target (down previously from $46.00) on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.