Robert A. Rubin Sells 2,342 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Stock

Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,342 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 53,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,998,425.13. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE:WTRG opened at $36.74 on Friday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a one year low of $32.07 and a one year high of $43.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.41, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.83.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.03). Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 29.52%. The business had revenue of $612.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $747.44 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essential Utilities

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WTRG. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 857.5% in the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 699 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 626 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 604.0% in the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 711 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 610 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 78.9% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 737 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 4,210.0% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 862 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 842 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.78% 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.