155,290 Shares in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG Bought by Quantbot Technologies LP

Key Points

• Quantbot Technologies LP acquired 155,290 shares of Essential Utilities during the second quarter, worth approximately $5.95 million and representing about 0.05% of the company. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 74.78% of WTRG.
• Essential Utilities reported quarterly EPS of $0.38, beating estimates by $0.01, while revenue rose 3.1% year over year to $530.85 million, slightly below expectations.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.3606 per share, equivalent to a 3.6% annualized yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $43.00.

Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 155,290 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,949,000. Quantbot Technologies LP owned about 0.05% of Essential Utilities at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of WTRG opened at $40.18 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The stock has a market cap of $11.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.50 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50-day moving average of $39.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.97. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 12-month low of $36.10 and a 12-month high of $42.37.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 21.60% and a return on equity of 8.23%. The business had revenue of $530.85 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $538.90 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.38 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.3606 per share. This is a boost from Essential Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Essential Utilities's payout ratio is currently 73.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTRG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Essential Utilities to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock 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 issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essential Utilities news, insider Colleen Arnold sold 2,855 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

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.

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