Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG Shares Sold by Wellington Management Group LLP

Wellington Management Group LLP lowered its stake in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 83.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 83,988 shares of the company’s stock after selling 427,597 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $3,218,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTRG. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Essential Utilities in the second quarter valued at about $1,280,829,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $154,176,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $134,247,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $92,467,000. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 33.4% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 6,335,695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $243,023,000 after purchasing an additional 1,586,622 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essential Utilities

In other news, insider Colleen Arnold sold 2,855 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:WTRG opened at $42.02 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 52-week low of $36.10 and a 52-week high of $42.41. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.25. The company has a market capitalization of $11.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.64.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 21.60% and a return on equity of 8.23%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 11th were given a $0.3606 dividend. This is a boost from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 11th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is 73.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WTRG shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Essential Utilities to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Weiss Ratings raised Essential Utilities from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.