Allianz Asset Management GmbH Lowers Stake in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Allianz Asset Management GmbH cut its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 7.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,531,560 shares of the company’s stock after selling 115,586 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $61,109,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. SouthState Corp grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 834.7% in the second quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 626 shares during the period. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its stake in Essential Utilities by 1,163.8% in the 3rd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in Essential Utilities by 141.2% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 710 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in Essential Utilities during the third quarter worth $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on WTRG shares. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $45.00 target price (down previously from $46.00) on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $47.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Barclays set a $38.00 price target on Essential Utilities and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded Essential Utilities from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.29.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of Essential Utilities stock opened at $37.41 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $38.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.88. The company has a market cap of $10.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.52 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.60. Essential Utilities Inc. has a one year low of $34.58 and a one year high of $42.37.

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

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.3426 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is 56.85%.

Essential Utilities Profile

Essential Utilities, Inc, formerly known as Aqua America, is a publicly traded water and natural gas utility holding company. Through its regulated water and wastewater subsidiaries, the company provides essential water services to residential, commercial and industrial customers. In addition, Essential Utilities delivers natural gas distribution services in Pennsylvania through its Peoples Gas subsidiary, offering integrated utility solutions under a unified corporate framework.

The company traces its roots to the Philadelphia Suburban Water Company, founded in 1886 to serve growing communities outside Philadelphia.