Federated Hermes Inc. Lowers Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Federated Hermes Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,241 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,335 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $1,017,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 857.5% during the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 626 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Tradition Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 246.0% during the fourth quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 955 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. bought a new position in Essential Utilities during the second quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 1st quarter worth $41,000. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WTRG. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.50.

Insider Transactions at Essential Utilities

In related news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,342 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.43, for a total transaction of $87,661.06. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 53,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,998,425.13. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE:WTRG opened at $38.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.07 and a 1-year high of $41.78. The company has a 50-day moving average of $39.68 and a 200 day moving average of $37.92. The firm has a market cap of $10.40 billion, a PE ratio of 18.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.85.

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

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a $0.3255 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This is an increase from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.43%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.61%.

Essential Utilities 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.