Gitterman Wealth Management LLC Raises Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Gitterman Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,864 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 423 shares during the period. Gitterman Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $256,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $52,964,000. Nuance Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the third quarter valued at approximately $21,570,000. Beck Bode LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the third quarter valued at approximately $8,028,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 2,242.1% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 238,027 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,171,000 after purchasing an additional 227,864 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 6.1% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,918,202 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,182,000 after purchasing an additional 166,891 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.21, for a total value of $207,073.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 57,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,149,100.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of WTRG stock traded down $0.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $36.09. 1,273,344 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,636,954. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.07 and a 12 month high of $43.74. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $35.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.87 billion, a PE ratio of 19.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.82.

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

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.3071 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $1.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. This is an increase from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.13%.

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.