Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Insider Colleen Arnold Sells 2,855 Shares

Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) insider Colleen Arnold sold 2,855 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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. This represents a 14.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Essential Utilities stock opened at $40.05 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.43 and a beta of 0.64. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $38.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.89.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 21.60% and a return on equity of 8.23%. The firm had revenue of $530.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $538.90 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be paid a $0.3606 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WTRG shares. UBS Group raised their price target on Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Barclays upped 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, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Essential Utilities to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

Institutional Trading of Essential Utilities

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of WTRG. Pekao Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych S.A. purchased a new position in Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter worth $3,547,000. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at about $638,000. Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter worth about $1,430,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 19.5% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,539,977 shares of the company’s stock worth $174,163,000 after purchasing an additional 741,587 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,566,000. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

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.