284,606 Shares in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG Acquired by Bank of Nova Scotia

Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new stake in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 284,606 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,903,000. Bank of Nova Scotia owned 0.10% of Essential Utilities at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Essential Utilities to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 3.0%

NYSE:WTRG opened at $41.38 on Tuesday. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 1-year low of $36.10 and a 1-year high of $42.37. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.11 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.38 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.3606 per share. 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 dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 11th. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio is presently 73.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Colleen Arnold sold 2,855 shares of the company'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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Essential Utilities Company 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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