NFJ Investment Group LLC Takes Position in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

NFJ Investment Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 105,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,046,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac purchased a new position in Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essential Utilities

In related news, insider Colleen Arnold sold 2,855 shares of the 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 sale, the insider owned 17,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $686,073.85. This trade represents a 14.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WTRG shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Essential Utilities to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of 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 price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Wednesday. Two investment 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE:WTRG opened at $40.47 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.65 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 12-month low of $36.10 and a 12-month high of $42.37.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $530.85 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $538.90 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.23% and a net margin of 21.60%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $0.3606 per share. This is an increase from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 11th. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 73.47%.

Essential Utilities Company 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.