Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Has $864,000 Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co reduced its stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,155 shares of the company’s stock after selling 568 shares during the quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $864,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 857.5% during the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 626 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Tradition Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 246.0% during the 4th quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 955 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. acquired a new position in Essential Utilities during the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new position in Essential Utilities during the 1st quarter valued at $41,000. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WTRG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI increased their price objective 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. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.50.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of Essential Utilities stock opened at $38.00 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.90. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.07 and a 12-month high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 8.16% and a net margin of 28.74%. The firm had revenue of $434.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $442.76 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.34 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essential Utilities news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,342 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were 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 approximately $1,998,425.13. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.