Man Group plc Takes $3.06 Million Position in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Man Group plc bought a new stake in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 80,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,065,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter worth about $638,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 928 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 122.7% in 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 during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 4.9% during the first 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 hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE:WTRG opened at $41.25 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $11.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.05 and a beta of 0.64. Essential Utilities Inc. has a twelve month low of $36.10 and a twelve month high of $42.37. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $39.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $530.85 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $538.90 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 21.60% and a return on equity of 8.23%. Essential Utilities’s revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.38 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.5%. This is a boost from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 11th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on WTRG. Wall Street Zen raised Essential Utilities to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. UBS Group increased 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 lifted their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

Insider Activity at Essential Utilities

In related news, insider Colleen Arnold sold 2,855 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.55, for a total value of $112,915.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 17,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $686,073.85. This trade represents a 14.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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.