Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. Sells 4,651 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. lessened its holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 13.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 30,690 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,651 shares during the period. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $1,146,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 604.0% during the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 78.9% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 737 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 4,210.0% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 862 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 842 shares during the period. Resources Management Corp CT ADV increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 250.0% in the 3rd quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 1,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Essential Utilities during the third quarter valued at about $39,000. 74.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Essential Utilities from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

WTRG stock traded up $0.37 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $36.27. The company had a trading volume of 2,626,579 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,813,910. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $35.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.69. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.07 and a 12-month high of $44.05. The company has a market capitalization of $9.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.68% and a net margin of 24.26%. The company had revenue of $479.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $708.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.44 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 32.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $0.3071 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $1.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.13%.

Insider Transactions at Essential Utilities

In related news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of Essential Utilities stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.21, for a total value of $207,073.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 57,756 shares in the company, valued at $2,149,100.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Company 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.