The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 65,598 Shares of Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its stake in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 19.3% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 274,929 shares of the company’s stock after selling 65,598 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $11,071,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pekao Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych S.A. bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,547,000. Perigon Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at $958,000. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at $638,000. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at $1,430,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 19.5% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,539,977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $174,163,000 after buying an additional 741,587 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of WTRG opened at $38.78 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.00 billion, a PE ratio of 19.69 and a beta of 0.64. Essential Utilities Inc. has a one year low of $36.10 and a one year high of $42.37.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.07). Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.34% and a net margin of 21.82%.The firm had revenue of $861.76 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $782.90 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $0.3606 per share. This is a boost from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 11th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on WTRG. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen raised Essential Utilities to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Profile

Essential Utilities, Inc, formerly known as Aqua America, is a publicly traded water and natural gas utility holding company. Through its regulated water and wastewater subsidiaries, the company provides essential water services to residential, commercial and industrial customers. In addition, Essential Utilities delivers natural gas distribution services in Pennsylvania through its Peoples Gas subsidiary, offering integrated utility solutions under a unified corporate framework.

The company traces its roots to the Philadelphia Suburban Water Company, founded in 1886 to serve growing communities outside Philadelphia.