Radnor Capital Management LLC Sells 7,801 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Radnor Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 11.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 59,352 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,801 shares during the quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $2,156,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WTRG. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 219.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 122,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,452,000 after acquiring an additional 84,208 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 28.7% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 60,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,338,000 after purchasing an additional 13,518 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at about $288,000. Capital Market Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 166.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital Market Strategies LLC now owns 14,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $512,000 after purchasing an additional 8,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Essential Utilities by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,811,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,134,000 after purchasing an additional 972,803 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of WTRG opened at $34.18 on Wednesday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.18 and a 1 year 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’s fifty day moving average price is $37.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.75. The firm has a market cap of $9.39 billion, a PE ratio of 17.09, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.86.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $416.95 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.30 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2.01 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.81%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 65.00%.

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.