J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Sells 1,184 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,237 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,184 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $755,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Essential Utilities by 24.7% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 152,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,636,000 after acquiring an additional 30,152 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 12.1% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 139,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,171,000 after purchasing an additional 15,009 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 17,553.7% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,425,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,156,000 after buying an additional 3,405,947 shares in the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Essential Utilities during the first quarter worth about $46,280,000. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 350.3% in the second quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 903,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,723,000 after acquiring an additional 702,760 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,342 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was 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 owns 53,391 shares in the company, valued at $1,998,425.13. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 0.4 %

WTRG stock opened at $39.47 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $39.70 and a 200-day moving average of $37.84. The company has a market cap of $10.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.71, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.85. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.07 and a twelve month high of $41.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $434.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $442.76 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 28.74% and a return on equity of 8.16%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.34 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.3255 per share. This is a boost from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is presently 61.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WTRG. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.40.

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.