Van ECK Associates Corp Sells 52,803 Shares of Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Van ECK Associates Corp lessened its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 30.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 120,658 shares of the company’s stock after selling 52,803 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $4,622,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at $1,430,000. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter worth about $638,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the second quarter valued at about $3,095,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,566,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 9.9% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,473,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,343,000 after buying an additional 132,566 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Essential Utilities

In related news, insider Colleen Arnold sold 2,855 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 14.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE WTRG opened at $41.56 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $11.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.20, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.16. Essential Utilities Inc. has a twelve month low of $36.10 and a twelve month high of $42.37. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $530.85 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $538.90 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 21.60% and a return on equity of 8.23%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th were issued a $0.3606 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 11th. This is a boost from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is currently 73.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTRG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Essential Utilities to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

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.