Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co Has $741,000 Stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co lowered its position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 2.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,859 shares of the company’s stock after selling 530 shares during the period. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $741,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 857.5% in the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 699 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 626 shares during the last quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 246.0% during the fourth quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 955 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 52.9% in the fourth quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

NYSE WTRG opened at $38.99 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $39.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.07 and a 52-week high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its quarterly 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). Essential Utilities had a net margin of 28.74% and a return on equity of 8.16%. The firm had revenue of $434.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $442.76 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.34 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th will be paid a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.34%. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 12th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WTRG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essential Utilities presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essential Utilities news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,342 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 53,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,998,425.13. 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 owned by company insiders.

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.