Aurora Investment Counsel Acquires New Shares in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Aurora Investment Counsel acquired a new position in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 68,633 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,629,000. Essential Utilities makes up approximately 1.4% of Aurora Investment Counsel's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position.

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

Essential Utilities Trading Up 1.7%

Essential Utilities stock opened at $41.04 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $38.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The stock has a market cap of $11.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.94 and a beta of 0.64. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $530.85 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $538.90 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.23% and a net margin of 21.60%.Essential Utilities's revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essential Utilities news, insider Colleen Arnold sold 2,855 shares of Essential Utilities stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.55, for a total transaction of $112,915.25. Following the sale, the insider owned 17,347 shares in the company, valued at $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 available at this link. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Essential Utilities to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. UBS Group upped their price target on Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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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