Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG Shares Sold by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management cut its Essential Utilities stake by 86% in the second quarter, selling 1.5 million shares and retaining 244,227 shares worth approximately $9.36 million. Institutional investors collectively own 74.78% of the company.
• Essential Utilities reported quarterly EPS of $0.38, slightly above estimates, while revenue rose 3.1% year over year to $530.85 million but fell short of expectations.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.3606 per share, equivalent to an annualized $1.44 payout and a 3.6% yield. Analysts give WTRG a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $43.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lowered its position in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 86.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 244,227 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,500,452 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.09% of Essential Utilities worth $9,356,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Apella Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 8.5% in the second quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 9,106 shares of the company's stock worth $356,000 after buying an additional 711 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its stake in Essential Utilities by 197.3% during the 2nd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 4,269 shares of the company's stock valued at $164,000 after acquiring an additional 2,833 shares in the last quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. grew its stake in Essential Utilities by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. now owns 82,885 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,175,000 after acquiring an additional 1,833 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 77.9% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,756 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 769 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 9.2% in the 2nd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 9,573 shares of the company's stock valued at $367,000 after acquiring an additional 809 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Colleen Arnold sold 2,855 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.55, for a total transaction of $112,915.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 17,347 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of WTRG stock opened at $40.05 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $11.37 billion, a PE ratio of 20.43 and a beta of 0.64. The firm's 50-day moving average is $38.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.89. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $530.85 million for 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.38 EPS. Analysts predict 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. This is a boost from Essential Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WTRG has been the topic of a number of research reports. 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 note on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Essential Utilities to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued 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 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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