39,464 Shares in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG Purchased by Greenwood Capital Associates LLC

Greenwood Capital Associates LLC bought a new stake in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 39,464 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,512,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,430,000. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $638,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,095,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,566,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,473,632 shares of the company's stock worth $59,343,000 after acquiring an additional 132,566 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTRG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised their target price on 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 report on Saturday, July 4th. Barclays upped their target price on Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Two 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of WTRG opened at $41.06 on Friday. 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 firm's 50-day simple moving average is $39.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.08. Essential Utilities Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $36.10 and a fifty-two week high of $42.37. The stock has a market cap of $11.65 billion, a PE ratio of 20.95 and a beta of 0.64.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $538.90 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 11th. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. 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 firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 14.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 company insiders.

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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