Robert A. Rubin Sells 2,342 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Stock

Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,342 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.43, for a total value of $87,661.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 53,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,998,425.13. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of WTRG stock opened at $37.08 on Wednesday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.07 and a 52-week high of $43.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $37.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.73.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.03). Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 29.52%. The business had revenue of $612.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $747.44 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Essential Utilities from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essential Utilities

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its holdings in Essential Utilities by 206.7% during the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 4,640 shares of the company’s stock worth $173,000 after purchasing an additional 3,127 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Essential Utilities by 59.0% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,359 shares of the company’s stock worth $200,000 after purchasing an additional 1,989 shares during the period. Kathmere Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Essential Utilities by 23.9% during the 2nd quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 20,247 shares of the company’s stock worth $756,000 after purchasing an additional 3,902 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in Essential Utilities by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 354,731 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,001,000 after purchasing an additional 2,589 shares during the period. Finally, Cambridge Trust Co. increased its holdings in Essential Utilities by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 47,993 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,778,000 after purchasing an additional 768 shares during the period. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.