PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 181,905 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,141 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $6,607,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 51,881 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,001,000 after purchasing an additional 803 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 92.8% in the 4th quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 148,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,529,000 after purchasing an additional 71,222 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,811,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,134,000 after purchasing an additional 972,803 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,585,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,152,000 after purchasing an additional 84,596 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $638,000. 74.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $38.54 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.27, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.79. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $33.18 and a 12 month high of $41.78. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.39.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $604.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $698.77 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. Analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is 59.91%.

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.