United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Invests $614,000 in Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 16,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $614,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WTRG. Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter worth $1,430,000. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at about $638,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new position in Essential Utilities in the second quarter valued at about $3,095,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter worth about $3,566,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Essential Utilities by 9.9% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,473,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,343,000 after purchasing an additional 132,566 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE:WTRG opened at $41.25 on Tuesday. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 1 year low of $36.10 and a 1 year high of $42.37. 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 $11.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.05 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $39.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.12.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $530.85 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $538.90 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.23% and a net margin of 21.60%.Essential Utilities’s revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.38 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.3606 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 11th. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essential Utilities news, insider Colleen Arnold sold 2,855 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider directly owned 17,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $686,073.85. This trade represents a 14.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Essential Utilities to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.00.

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.