Colleen Arnold Sells 2,855 Shares of Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) Stock

Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) insider Colleen Arnold sold 2,855 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.55, for a total transaction of $112,915.25. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 17,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $686,073.85. The trade was a 14.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE WTRG opened at $39.81 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The stock has a market cap of $11.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.31 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.89. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 12-month low of $36.10 and a 12-month high of $42.37.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $530.85 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $538.90 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.23% and a net margin of 21.60%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.38 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be paid a $0.3606 dividend. 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 yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 11th. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is 73.47%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essential Utilities

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.