Greenland Capital Management LP Acquires 283,790 Shares of Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Greenland Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 155.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 465,810 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 283,790 shares during the period. Essential Utilities comprises about 1.8% of Greenland Capital Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Greenland Capital Management LP’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $17,300,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $638,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 3.9% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 107,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,239,000 after buying an additional 4,015 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 55.0% in the first quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 30,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,192,000 after buying an additional 10,699 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.7% in the first quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 730,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,885,000 after buying an additional 4,905 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 4.0% during the first quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 215,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,499,000 after acquiring an additional 8,196 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

WTRG opened at $39.16 on Wednesday. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.18 and a 52-week high of $42.37. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.08 billion, a PE ratio of 16.81, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.84.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $476.97 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $472.40 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.25 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be paid a $0.3426 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is 56.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Baird R W cut shares of Essential Utilities from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Barclays boosted their price target on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Zacks Research raised Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Northcoast Research set a $46.00 price target on Essential Utilities in a research report on Monday, October 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.57.

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.