Cambiar Investors LLC Raises Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Cambiar Investors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 33.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 303,518 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 75,708 shares during the quarter. Cambiar Investors LLC owned 0.11% of Essential Utilities worth $11,336,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 604.0% in the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 711 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 112.6% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 863 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 155.4% during the 3rd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,042 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 634 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Resources Management Corp CT ADV grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 250.0% during the 3rd quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 1,050 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essential Utilities

In other Essential Utilities news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.21, for a total transaction of $207,073.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 57,756 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,149,100.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of Essential Utilities stock traded down $0.67 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $35.83. The company had a trading volume of 1,552,419 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,686,216. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $35.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.64. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.07 and a fifty-two week high of $45.29. The firm has a market cap of $9.80 billion, a PE ratio of 19.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $479.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $708.50 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.68% and a net margin of 24.26%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 32.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.44 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.3071 per share. This is a boost from Essential Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $1.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. Essential Utilities's payout ratio is presently 65.59%.

Essential Utilities Company Profile

Essential Utilities, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates regulated utilities that provide water, wastewater, or natural gas services in the United States. The company operates through Regulated Water and Regulated Natural Gas segments. It offers water services through operating and maintenance contract with municipal authorities and other parties.