Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Holdings Cut by Peoples Bank KS

Peoples Bank KS reduced its stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 2.6% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 16,792 shares of the company’s stock after selling 457 shares during the quarter. Peoples Bank KS’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $627,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 14.7% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,000 after acquiring an additional 791 shares during the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network grew its position in Essential Utilities by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 8,523 shares of the company’s stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 613 shares during the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB bought a new position in Essential Utilities in the 2nd quarter worth about $11,853,000. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 4.5% in the second quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,947 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the period. Finally, Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 2.8% during the second quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. now owns 199,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,441,000 after buying an additional 5,486 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Essential Utilities

In other news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,342 shares of the 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 owns 53,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,998,425.13. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.40.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of WTRG traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $39.11. The stock had a trading volume of 954,776 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,583,654. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The company has a market capitalization of $10.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $38.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.23. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.07 and a 52 week high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $442.76 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.34 earnings per share. Essential Utilities’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th will be issued a $0.3255 dividend. This is an increase from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 12th. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is presently 58.29%.

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.