Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) CAO Robert A. Rubin Sells 2,342 Shares of Stock

Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,342 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.43, for a total value of $87,661.06. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 53,391 shares in the company, valued at $1,998,425.13. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of WTRG stock opened at $37.08 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $10.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.57, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s fifty day moving average is $37.61 and its 200 day moving average is $36.73. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.07 and a twelve month high of $43.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $612.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $747.44 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 29.52%. Research analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essential Utilities

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 78.9% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 737 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 5.4% in the first quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 6,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 52.9% in the fourth quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 977 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 5.5% in the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 6,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC now owns 69,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,607,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Essential Utilities from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Company Profile

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.