International Assets Investment Management LLC Makes New Investment in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 95,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,583,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 604.0% during the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 711 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 610 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 112.6% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 863 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE WTRG opened at $34.51 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $35.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.62. The company has a market capitalization of $9.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.82. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.07 and a 12 month high of $44.05.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $479.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $708.50 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 24.26% and a return on equity of 8.68%. The company’s revenue was down 32.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.44 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.3071 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $1.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. This is a boost from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 57,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,149,100.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Essential Utilities

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.