2,413,662 Shares in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG Bought by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon purchased 2.41 million shares of Essential Utilities, valued at approximately $92.5 million, giving it a 0.85% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 74.78% of the company.
• Essential Utilities reported quarterly EPS of $0.38, slightly ahead of analyst expectations, while revenue rose 3.1% year over year to $530.85 million, below estimates.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.3606 per share, representing a 3.5% yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $43.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,413,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $92,467,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.85% of Essential Utilities as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter worth about $638,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 12,861 shares of the company's stock worth $508,000 after acquiring an additional 928 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Essential Utilities by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 29,674 shares of the company's stock worth $1,173,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Essential Utilities by 122.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 943,797 shares of the company's stock worth $37,308,000 after acquiring an additional 519,933 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 4.9% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 22,322 shares of the company's stock worth $882,000 after purchasing an additional 1,044 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of Essential Utilities stock opened at $41.38 on Tuesday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $39.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.00. The company has a market cap of $11.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.11 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. Essential Utilities Inc. has a one year low of $36.10 and a one year high of $42.37.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $530.85 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $538.90 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.38 EPS. Essential Utilities's revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $0.3606 per share. This is an increase from Essential Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 11th. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTRG has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Essential Utilities to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Barclays raised their target price on Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Two investment 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 given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.00.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 in the company, valued at approximately $686,073.85. The trade was a 14.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

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.

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