Kintayl Capital LP acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG – Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 462,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,726,000. Essential Utilities makes up 7.0% of Kintayl Capital LP’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Kintayl Capital LP owned 0.16% of Essential Utilities at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WTRG. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new position in Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Essential Utilities in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
WTRG has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. UBS Group upped their price target on Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Essential Utilities to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.00.
Insider Activity
In related news, insider Colleen Arnold sold 2,855 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.55, for a total transaction of $112,915.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 17,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $686,073.85. This trade represents a 14.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Essential Utilities Stock Performance
Shares of WTRG stock opened at $40.74 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $39.21 and a 200-day moving average of $39.02. Essential Utilities Inc. has a one year low of $36.10 and a one year high of $42.37. The company has a market cap of $11.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.79 and a beta of 0.64.
Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $530.85 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $538.90 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 21.60% and a return on equity of 8.23%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Essential Utilities Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be issued a $0.3606 dividend. This is a boost from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 11th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.47%.
Essential Utilities Profile
Essential Utilities, Inc, formerly known as Aqua America, is a publicly traded water and natural gas utility holding company. Through its regulated water and wastewater subsidiaries, the company provides essential water services to residential, commercial and industrial customers. In addition, Essential Utilities delivers natural gas distribution services in Pennsylvania through its Peoples Gas subsidiary, offering integrated utility solutions under a unified corporate framework.
The company traces its roots to the Philadelphia Suburban Water Company, founded in 1886 to serve growing communities outside Philadelphia.
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