ABN Amro Investment Solutions Trims Position in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Key Points

• ABN Amro Investment Solutions cut its Essential Utilities stake by 24.8% in the second quarter, selling 25,050 shares and retaining 75,980 shares valued at approximately $2.91 million. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company.
• Essential Utilities slightly exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.38 in EPS versus the $0.37 consensus, while revenue rose 3.1% year over year to $530.85 million.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.3606 per share, equivalent to a 3.6% yield and $1.44 annualized payout. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $43.

ABN Amro Investment Solutions trimmed its position in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 24.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 75,980 shares of the company's stock after selling 25,050 shares during the quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions' holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $2,911,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WTRG. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Essential Utilities in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Essential Utilities

In other Essential Utilities news, insider Colleen Arnold sold 2,855 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 17,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $686,073.85. This represents a 14.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE WTRG opened at $40.44 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.90. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 12-month low of $36.10 and a 12-month high of $42.37. The firm has a market cap of $11.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.63 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $530.85 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $538.90 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 21.60% and a return on equity of 8.23%. The firm's revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.38 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be issued a $0.3606 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. This is an increase from Essential Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 11th. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WTRG. UBS Group increased their price objective on Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Essential Utilities to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Barclays raised 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.

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