Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Reduces Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. lessened its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 20.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,222 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,415 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $494,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,168,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $932,698,000 after acquiring an additional 99,560 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.7% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,386,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,267,000 after purchasing an additional 24,991 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 6.1% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,918,202 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,182,000 after purchasing an additional 166,891 shares during the period. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 3.6% in the third quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,966,687 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,516,000 after purchasing an additional 67,465 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 4.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,768,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,715,000 after purchasing an additional 74,800 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essential Utilities news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.21, for a total transaction of $207,073.65. Following the completion of the sale, 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 can be accessed through this link. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 1.0 %

Essential Utilities stock opened at $36.27 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $35.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market cap of $9.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.82. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.07 and a twelve month high of $44.05.

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

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.3071 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $1.23 dividend on an annualized basis 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 is currently 66.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.