Gabelli Funds LLC Sells 6,100 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Gabelli Funds LLC lowered its stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 553,850 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,100 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC owned about 0.20% of Essential Utilities worth $20,675,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WTRG. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Essential Utilities by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,281,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,857,000 after buying an additional 44,477 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 271.9% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,225,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,785,000 after acquiring an additional 896,223 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 40.9% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 52,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,943,000 after purchasing an additional 15,110 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 79,272 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,961,000 after purchasing an additional 9,112 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WTRG. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of 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 increased their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.50.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:WTRG opened at $38.00 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization 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. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.95. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.07 and a 1 year high of $41.78. 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 (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.02). Essential Utilities had a net margin of 28.74% and a return on equity of 8.16%. The business had revenue of $434.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $442.76 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.34 EPS. Essential Utilities’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Essential Utilities

In other news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,342 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $87,661.06. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 accessible through this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.