Perigon Wealth Management LLC Makes New $779,000 Investment in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Perigon Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 20,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $779,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WTRG. Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $121,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Chase Investment Counsel Corp bought a new stake in Essential Utilities in the second quarter worth $431,000. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Essential Utilities in the second quarter worth $359,000. Finally, Flputnam Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in Essential Utilities during the second quarter worth $17,841,000. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

WTRG opened at $40.40 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $38.89 and a 200 day moving average of $38.93. The stock has a market cap of $11.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.61 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 52-week low of $36.10 and a 52-week high of $42.37.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.23% and a net margin of 21.60%.The business had revenue of $530.85 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $538.90 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 EPS for the current 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 issued a $0.3606 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 11th. This is a boost from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on WTRG. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Essential Utilities to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Colleen Arnold sold 2,855 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 17,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $686,073.85. This trade represents a 14.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Essential Utilities 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.