Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Shares Acquired by Moors & Cabot Inc.

Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,902 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,239 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $818,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,281,232 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,857,000 after buying an additional 44,477 shares during the last quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Essential Utilities by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,208 shares of the company’s stock valued at $792,000 after acquiring an additional 597 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at $97,288,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 196,873 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,353,000 after purchasing an additional 6,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 271.9% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,225,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,785,000 after purchasing an additional 896,223 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE:WTRG opened at $38.74 on Thursday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.07 and a 12-month high of $41.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.88. The firm has a market cap of $10.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.36, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.85.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.02). Essential Utilities had a net margin of 28.74% and a return on equity of 8.16%. The firm had revenue of $434.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $442.76 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.34 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were given a $0.3255 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. This is an increase from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WTRG shares. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essential Utilities

In other news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,342 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.43, for a total transaction of $87,661.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 53,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,998,425.13. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.