W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. boosted its stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 10.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,347 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 977 shares during the quarter. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $386,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its stake in Essential Utilities by 604.0% in the fourth 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. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in Essential Utilities by 78.9% during 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 during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 4,210.0% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 862 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 842 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Resources Management Corp CT ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 250.0% in the 3rd quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 1,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Essential Utilities news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,023 shares of Essential Utilities stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.56, for a total value of $73,960.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 13,358 shares in the company, valued at $488,368.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Evercore ISI decreased their target price 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:WTRG traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $37.78. 1,473,736 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,799,371. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.91, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.80. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $35.86 and a 200 day moving average of $35.89. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.07 and a 12 month high of $43.74.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued 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 the consensus estimate of $708.50 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 29.52% and a return on equity of 8.72%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 32.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.44 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a $0.3071 dividend. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.29%.

Essential Utilities Company 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.