Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) CAO Robert A. Rubin Sells 2,023 Shares

Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,023 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.56, for a total transaction of $73,960.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 13,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $488,368.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 0.2 %

WTRG stock opened at $37.76 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market cap of $10.33 billion, a PE ratio of 17.90, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.80. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.07 and a 1 year high of $43.74. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.83.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $479.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $708.50 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.72% and a net margin of 29.52%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 32.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.44 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.3071 per share. This represents a $1.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This is an increase from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.29%.

Institutional Trading of Essential Utilities

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 53.6% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 45,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,556,000 after acquiring an additional 15,811 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Essential Utilities by 35.8% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 157,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,405,000 after purchasing an additional 41,494 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 25.2% in the 3rd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 71,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,437,000 after buying an additional 14,300 shares during the last quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Essential Utilities by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. now owns 181,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,214,000 after buying an additional 5,375 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 6.2% during the third quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 317,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,886,000 after buying an additional 18,382 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Essential Utilities from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Company Profile

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.