Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Shares Sold by Silver Lake Advisory LLC

Silver Lake Advisory LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 20.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 83,576 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,238 shares during the quarter. Essential Utilities comprises about 1.7% of Silver Lake Advisory LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Silver Lake Advisory LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $3,122,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Choreo LLC raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 3.1% in the third quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 10,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $358,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 78.9% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 3.1% in the third quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 10,831 shares of the company’s stock valued at $372,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC now owns 69,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,607,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 3.0% in the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 12,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $434,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Transactions at Essential Utilities

In other news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of Essential Utilities stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was 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 owns 57,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,149,100.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WTRG traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $37.26. 425,566 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,792,051. The stock has a market cap of $10.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.01, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.07 and a twelve month high of $43.74. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $35.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.82.

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

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.3071 per share. This represents a $1.23 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This is an increase from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio 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.