Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG Shares Sold by Gateway Investment Advisers LLC

Key Points

• Gateway Investment Advisers cut its Essential Utilities stake by 90% in the second quarter, selling 93,657 shares and retaining 10,363 shares valued at approximately $397,000. Institutional investors collectively own 74.78% of the company.
• Essential Utilities reported quarterly EPS of $0.38, slightly ahead of analyst expectations, while revenue rose 3.1% year over year to $530.85 million. Shares recently opened at $39.81, within a 12-month range of $36.10 to $42.37.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.3606, equivalent to an annualized $1.44 payout and a 3.6% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $43.00.

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC reduced its position in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 90.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,363 shares of the company's stock after selling 93,657 shares during the quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC's holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $397,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pekao Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych S.A. acquired a new position in Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,547,000. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter worth $638,000. Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter worth $1,430,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 19.5% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,539,977 shares of the company's stock worth $174,163,000 after purchasing an additional 741,587 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Christine Messmer PC acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at $1,246,000. 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 company'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 sale, the insider owned 17,347 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available at the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $39.81 on Thursday. Essential Utilities Inc. has a twelve month low of $36.10 and a twelve month high of $42.37. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.89. The company has a market capitalization of $11.30 billion, a PE ratio of 20.31 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 issued 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 business had revenue of $530.85 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $538.90 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 21.60% and a return on equity of 8.23%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.38 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on WTRG shares. Barclays raised their target price on Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. UBS Group upped their price target on Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Essential Utilities to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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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