NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd Purchases Shares of 30,000 Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Key Points

• NINE MASTS CAPITAL acquired 30,000 shares of Essential Utilities in the second quarter, valued at approximately $1.15 million. Institutional investors collectively own 74.78% of the company.
• Essential Utilities reported quarterly EPS of $0.38, slightly exceeding 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, representing an annualized payout of $1.44 and a 3.6% yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $43.

NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 30,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,149,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter worth about $638,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Essential Utilities by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 12,861 shares of the company's stock valued at $508,000 after purchasing an additional 928 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Essential Utilities by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 29,674 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,173,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Essential Utilities by 122.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 943,797 shares of the company's stock worth $37,308,000 after purchasing an additional 519,933 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in Essential Utilities by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 22,322 shares of the company's stock worth $882,000 after purchasing an additional 1,044 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:WTRG opened at $39.89 on Tuesday. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 1 year low of $36.10 and a 1 year high of $42.37. The company has a market capitalization of $11.32 billion, a PE ratio of 20.35 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $38.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $530.85 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $538.90 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.23% and a net margin of 21.60%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.38 EPS. Analysts forecast that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essential Utilities news, insider Colleen Arnold sold 2,855 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Essential Utilities Company Profile

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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