Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Stock Holdings Lessened by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp reduced its holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 60,862 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,281 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $2,273,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 358,856 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,403,000 after acquiring an additional 10,913 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter worth about $213,000. Gitterman Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Gitterman Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 423 shares during the period. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. now owns 186,922 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,982,000 after acquiring an additional 5,918 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New Hampshire increased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 3,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,023 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.56, for a total transaction of $73,960.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 13,358 shares in the company, valued at approximately $488,368.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,023 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.56, for a total transaction of $73,960.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 13,358 shares in the company, valued at approximately $488,368.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.21, for a total transaction of $207,073.65. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 57,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,149,100.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WTRG. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Essential Utilities currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 1.0 %

Essential Utilities stock opened at $38.67 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $10.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.33, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $36.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.97. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.07 and a 52 week high of $43.74.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $479.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $708.50 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 29.52% and a return on equity of 8.62%. Essential Utilities’s quarterly revenue was down 32.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.44 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $0.3071 per share. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $1.23 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.29%.

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.