Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Sells 5,736 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 3.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 144,077 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,736 shares during the quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $5,378,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 857.5% in the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 699 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 626 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Essential Utilities during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Tradition Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 246.0% in the 4th quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 955 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities during the first quarter worth $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. 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. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Essential Utilities presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.50.

Essential Utilities Stock Down 0.8 %

Essential Utilities stock opened at $38.00 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.01, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.85. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.90. 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 fifty-two week low of $32.07 and a fifty-two week high of $41.78.

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

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a $0.3255 dividend. This is an increase from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is 61.61%.

Insider Transactions at Essential Utilities

In related news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,342 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 53,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,998,425.13. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.