Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Insider Colleen Arnold Sells 2,855 Shares

by · The Markets Daily

Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG – Get Free Report) insider Colleen Arnold sold 2,855 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.55, for a total value of $112,915.25. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 17,347 shares in the company, valued at $686,073.85. This represents a 14.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

NYSE:WTRG traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $40.05. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,613,303 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,229,948. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 52-week low of $36.10 and a 52-week high of $42.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.78. The business’s 50-day moving average is $38.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.89. The company has a market capitalization of $11.37 billion, a PE ratio of 20.43 and a beta of 0.64.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $530.85 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $538.90 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 21.60% and a return on equity of 8.23%. The business’s revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $0.3606 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 11th. This is an increase from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.90%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essential Utilities

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTRG. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at about $638,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 7.8% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 12,861 shares of the company’s stock valued at $508,000 after purchasing an additional 928 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.8% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 29,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,173,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 122.7% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 943,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,308,000 after purchasing an additional 519,933 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 4.9% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 22,322 shares of the company’s stock valued at $882,000 after purchasing an additional 1,044 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Barclays upped their price target on Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen raised Essential Utilities to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

View Our Latest Analysis on Essential Utilities

Essential Utilities Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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