The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 65,598 Shares of Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its Essential Utilities stake by 19.3%, selling 65,598 shares in the first quarter and retaining 274,929 shares valued at approximately $11.1 million.
• Essential Utilities shares were trading at $38.78, down 2.7%, after the company reported quarterly EPS of $0.83, below the $0.90 consensus estimate, despite revenue rising 10% year over year to $861.76 million.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.3606 per share, implying an annualized yield of about 3.7%. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $43.00.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lowered its stake in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 19.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 274,929 shares of the company's stock after selling 65,598 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.10% of Essential Utilities worth $11,071,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pekao Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych S.A. bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter worth $3,547,000. Perigon Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at $958,000. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at $638,000. Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter worth about $1,430,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in Essential Utilities by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,539,977 shares of the company's stock worth $174,163,000 after buying an additional 741,587 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 2.7%

Shares of WTRG opened at $38.78 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $11.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.69 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 1 year low of $36.10 and a 1 year high of $42.37.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $861.76 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $782.90 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.34% and a net margin of 21.82%.The company's revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be given a $0.3606 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 11th. This is a boost from Essential Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio is 69.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on WTRG shares. UBS Group raised their price target on Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Essential Utilities to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Two investment 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 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.

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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