Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Reduces Stock Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lessened its stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 1.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 920,253 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,110 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned approximately 0.34% of Essential Utilities worth $34,353,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on WTRG. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Friday. 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.50.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

WTRG stock opened at $38.00 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.07 and a 52-week high of $41.78. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $39.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.95. The company has a market capitalization of $10.40 billion, a PE ratio of 18.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.85.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.02). Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.16% and a net margin of 28.74%. 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 prior year, the firm earned $0.34 earnings per share. Essential Utilities’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.43%. This is an increase from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is 61.61%.

Insider Activity

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

About Essential Utilities

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.