State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 11,735 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D cut its position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 9.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 118,974 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,735 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $4,444,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WTRG. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 604.0% in the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 711 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 78.9% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in Essential Utilities by 4,210.0% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 842 shares during the period. Resources Management Corp CT ADV increased its position in Essential Utilities by 250.0% during the 3rd quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 1,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the period. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE WTRG traded down $0.48 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $36.09. 1,265,358 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,819,557. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.07 and a 52 week high of $43.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.82. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $35.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.73.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $479.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $708.50 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.68% and a net margin of 24.26%. Essential Utilities’s quarterly revenue was down 32.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.44 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a $0.3071 dividend. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $1.23 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.59%.

Insider Transactions at Essential Utilities

In other Essential Utilities news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.21, for a total value of $207,073.65. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 57,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,149,100.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.