Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Takes Position in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 13,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $517,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WTRG. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Essential Utilities in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 74.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Essential Utilities Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $40.47 on Friday. Essential Utilities Inc. has a twelve month low of $36.10 and a twelve month high of $42.37. The firm has a market cap of $11.48 billion, a PE ratio of 20.65 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $530.85 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $538.90 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.23% and a net margin of 21.60%.The business’s revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.38 EPS. Analysts expect that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.3606 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 11th. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.47%.

Insider Transactions at Essential Utilities

In other news, insider Colleen Arnold sold 2,855 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.55, for a total value of $112,915.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 17,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $686,073.85. The trade was a 14.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Essential Utilities

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.