Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Sells 2,200 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky reduced its stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 2.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 75,699 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,200 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $2,920,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 14.7% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 791 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 14.5% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 42,421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,584,000 after acquiring an additional 5,363 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 140,789 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,256,000 after acquiring an additional 16,231 shares during the period. First Pacific Financial grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 16,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $603,000 after acquiring an additional 1,135 shares during the period. Finally, SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $295,000. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WTRG opened at $38.69 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $39.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.94. 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 company has a market capitalization of $10.62 billion, a PE ratio of 19.35, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.85. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.57 and a 1-year high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $435.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.95 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. Essential Utilities’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.30 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2.01 EPS 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. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $0.3255 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 65.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WTRG shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $44.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.