Van ECK Associates Corp Has $4.62 Million Holdings in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Van ECK Associates Corp trimmed its position in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 30.4% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 120,658 shares of the company’s stock after selling 52,803 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $4,622,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WTRG. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,280,829,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at $154,176,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 2nd quarter valued at $134,247,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Essential Utilities in the 2nd quarter valued at $92,467,000. Finally, Amundi raised its position in Essential Utilities by 33.4% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 6,335,695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $243,023,000 after purchasing an additional 1,586,622 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Essential Utilities Stock Up 1.1%

NYSE:WTRG opened at $41.56 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $11.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.78. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $39.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.16. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 52-week low of $36.10 and a 52-week high of $42.37.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $530.85 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 11th were given a $0.3606 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 11th. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is 73.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Barclays lifted their price target 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 upped their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Essential Utilities to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

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.