Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC Buys Shares of 34,962 Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Key Points

• Clear Harbor Asset Management initiated a position in Essential Utilities by purchasing 34,962 shares valued at approximately $1.34 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 74.78% of the company.
• Essential Utilities reported quarterly EPS of $0.38, beating estimates by $0.01, while revenue increased 3.1% year over year to $530.85 million but fell short of expectations.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.3606 per share, equivalent to a 3.6% annualized yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $43.

Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 34,962 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,339,000.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the second quarter valued at $10,903,000. Commerce Bank acquired a new position in Essential Utilities in the 2nd quarter valued at about $310,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new position in Essential Utilities in the 2nd quarter valued at about $750,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Essential Utilities in the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,949,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Essential Utilities in the 2nd quarter valued at about $308,000. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 0.6%

WTRG opened at $40.18 on Friday. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 12 month low of $36.10 and a 12 month high of $42.37. The business has a 50-day moving average of $39.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.50 and a beta of 0.64.

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. 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.38 EPS. The company's revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be paid 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 11th. Essential Utilities's payout ratio is 73.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WTRG. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Essential Utilities to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Wednesday. Two investment 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 given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.00.

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 value of $112,915.25. Following the transaction, the insider owned 17,347 shares in the company, valued at $686,073.85. This trade represents a 14.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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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