Sanctuary Advisors LLC Acquires New Position in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 20,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $784,000.

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

Essential Utilities Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of Essential Utilities stock opened at $41.06 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.65 billion, a PE ratio of 20.95 and a beta of 0.64. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 52-week low of $36.10 and a 52-week high of $42.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $530.85 million for 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.38 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $0.3606 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essential Utilities news, insider Colleen Arnold sold 2,855 shares of Essential Utilities 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 17,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $686,073.85. This trade represents a 14.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Essential Utilities to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. UBS Group upped their price target on Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. 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 given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Essential Utilities 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.