Heartland Advisors Inc. Takes Position in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Key Points

• Heartland Advisors acquired a new 45,489-share stake in Essential Utilities during the second quarter, valued at approximately $1.74 million. Institutional investors collectively own 74.78% of WTRG.
• Essential Utilities slightly exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.38 EPS versus the $0.37 estimate, while revenue rose 3.1% year over year to $530.85 million but fell short of forecasts.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.3606, representing a $1.44 annualized payout and a 3.6% yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $43.00.

Heartland Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 45,489 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,743,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of WTRG. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,280,829,000. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Essential Utilities by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,833,175 shares of the company's stock worth $530,641,000 after purchasing an additional 241,176 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in Essential Utilities by 33.4% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 6,335,695 shares of the company's stock worth $243,023,000 after purchasing an additional 1,586,622 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Essential Utilities by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,233,715 shares of the company's stock valued at $200,197,000 after purchasing an additional 120,947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in 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 valued at $174,163,000 after purchasing an additional 741,587 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Colleen Arnold sold 2,855 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.55, for a total value of $112,915.25. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 17,347 shares of the company's stock, valued at $686,073.85. The trade was 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $40.18 on Friday. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 52-week low of $36.10 and a 52-week high of $42.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.78. The company's 50 day moving average price is $39.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.97. The company has a market capitalization of $11.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.50 and a beta of 0.64.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $530.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $538.90 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 21.60% and a return on equity of 8.23%. Essential Utilities's quarterly revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share 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 given a $0.3606 dividend. This is a boost from Essential Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio is 73.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTRG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their price objective 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. Wall Street Zen raised Essential Utilities to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Two equities 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus 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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