Haverford Trust Co Takes Position in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Haverford Trust Co bought a new stake in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 17,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $653,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Essential Utilities in the second quarter worth approximately $1,339,000. Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the second quarter valued at approximately $10,903,000. Commerce Bank bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the second quarter valued at approximately $310,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the second quarter worth approximately $750,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the second quarter worth approximately $5,949,000. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on WTRG. UBS Group lifted 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 upped their price objective on shares of 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 research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Essential Utilities to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of Essential Utilities stock opened at $40.18 on Friday. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 52 week low of $36.10 and a 52 week high of $42.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $39.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.97. The company has a market cap of $11.40 billion, a PE ratio of 20.50 and a beta of 0.64.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $530.85 million for 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%.Essential Utilities’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.3606 per share. This is a boost from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essential Utilities news, insider Colleen Arnold sold 2,855 shares of Essential Utilities stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.55, for a total transaction of $112,915.25. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 17,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $686,073.85. The trade was a 14.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

About Essential Utilities

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.