Greenland Capital Management LP Reduces Stock Holdings in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Greenland Capital Management LP trimmed its holdings in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 36.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 295,100 shares of the company’s stock after selling 170,710 shares during the quarter. Essential Utilities comprises about 1.2% of Greenland Capital Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Greenland Capital Management LP owned about 0.11% of Essential Utilities worth $11,774,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $638,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 12,861 shares of the company’s stock worth $508,000 after buying an additional 928 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 29,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,173,000 after buying an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Essential Utilities by 122.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 943,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,308,000 after buying an additional 519,933 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 4.9% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 22,322 shares of the company’s stock valued at $882,000 after buying an additional 1,044 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTRG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Northcoast Research raised Essential Utilities from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Janney Montgomery Scott cut shares of Essential Utilities from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $45.00 target price (down from $46.00) on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Barclays set a $38.00 price target on shares of Essential Utilities and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to 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 NYSE WTRG opened at $39.24 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $38.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.98. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.96 and a 52-week high of $42.37. The company has a market cap of $11.11 billion, a PE ratio of 16.28 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be issued a $0.3426 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.