Retirement Systems of Alabama Buys 10,913 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 358,856 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,913 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $13,403,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 235,841 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,096,000 after purchasing an additional 29,372 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 94.0% during the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 81,799 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,808,000 after purchasing an additional 39,643 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 34,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,180,000 after purchasing an additional 3,104 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter worth about $3,583,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,168,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $932,698,000 after acquiring an additional 99,560 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 57,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,149,100.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Essential Utilities Trading Up 1.7 %

WTRG opened at $37.21 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. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.07 and a fifty-two week high of $43.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.18 billion, a PE ratio of 20.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.80. The company’s 50-day moving average is $35.77 and its 200 day moving average is $35.82.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $479.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was down 32.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.44 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a $0.3071 dividend. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $1.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.13%.

Essential Utilities Profile

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.