New York State Teachers Retirement System Purchases 286 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 0.1% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 320,786 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $11,975,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 857.5% during the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 626 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 78.9% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 52.9% during the 4th quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of WTRG stock traded up $0.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $39.24. The stock had a trading volume of 1,277,275 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,556,748. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.07 and a 12-month high of $41.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $39.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.02). Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.16% and a net margin of 28.74%. The firm had revenue of $434.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $442.76 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.34 earnings per share. Essential Utilities’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th will be issued a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. This is a boost from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 12th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WTRG shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,342 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.43, for a total transaction of $87,661.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 53,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,998,425.13. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

About Essential Utilities

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.