Machina Capital S.A.S. Takes Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Machina Capital S.A.S. acquired a new position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 7,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 604.0% during the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 78.9% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 737 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 4,210.0% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 862 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 842 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Resources Management Corp CT ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 250.0% in the 3rd quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 1,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE WTRG traded up $0.37 on Tuesday, reaching $38.67. The company had a trading volume of 1,900,990 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,794,969. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.62. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.07 and a 1-year high of $43.74. The company’s fifty day moving average is $35.94 and its 200-day moving average is $35.93.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 29.52% and a return on equity of 8.62%. The company had revenue of $479.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $708.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.44 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 32.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2 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 Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.3071 dividend. This represents a $1.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.18%. This is a boost from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

Insider Activity

In other Essential Utilities news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.21, for a total value of $207,073.65. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 57,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,149,100.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.21, for a total transaction of $207,073.65. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 57,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,149,100.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,023 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.56, for a total transaction of $73,960.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 13,358 shares in the company, valued at $488,368.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.